There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not allowed. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel building that features numerous conveniences on top of the casino, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight tables.