There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where casino gambling is not legal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau casino, highlights 150 slots and sixty tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 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 eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel complex that highlights a number of luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.