There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not permitted. Eight casinos are based in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is correct of many borders.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel complex that highlights numerous luxuries aside from the gambling den, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight tables.