There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which casino gaming is against the law. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are allegedly required to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, features 150 slot machines and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of twenty-one, 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 the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that contains many luxuries accompanying the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.