There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den wagering is not legal. Eight casinos are established in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists 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 more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 slot machine games and five 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 contains 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel compound that features many luxuries in addition to the gambling den, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.