There is an appealing history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect spot, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 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 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel compound that contains many luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which houses 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.