There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is banned. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income acquired from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat casino, features 150 one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel compound that features many luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.