There is an interesting history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is illegal. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent area, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are apparently needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel compound that features numerous comforts in addition to the gambling den, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 table games.