There is an appealing story to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is illegal. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling locations 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 capital acquired from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are means around this, as is correct of many borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that contains many conveniences on top of the gambling den, which offers ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight tables.