There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino betting is not legal. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent destination, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently required to cross, there are means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, features 150 one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that contains many luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.
