There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is banned. Eight gambling dens are situated in a generally tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is accurate of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling hall, highlights 150 slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that contains many comforts accompanying the gambling den, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.