There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling den betting is banned. Eight gambling dens are situated in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 1700, and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling hall, highlights 150 one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel building that contains a number of luxuries on top of the gambling den, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.
