There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den wagering is not permitted. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and although visas are apparently needed to cross, there are means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling hall, features 150 slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel building that highlights a number of comforts on top of the gambling den, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.