There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is banned. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime 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 travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau casino, features 150 slots and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that contains a number of luxuries aside from the casino, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and eighty eight tables.