There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino wagering is illegal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, highlights 150 slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits 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 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of amenities accompanying the casino, which has ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.