There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gaming is against the law. Eight casinos are based in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are methods around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau casino, contains 150 slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that features a number of conveniences aside from the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight tables.