There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall betting is banned. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and although visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel complex that features many conveniences in addition to the casino, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.