There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly needed to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and 70 gaming tables 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 banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel building that contains a number of amenities accompanying the gambling den, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.