There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, where casino wagering is banned. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship casino, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 table games 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. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel building that contains a number of comforts aside from the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight tables.