There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall betting is banned. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime destination, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens 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, an anchored boat casino, highlights 150 slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six 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 slots and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that features a number of conveniences accompanying the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.