There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is not allowed. Eight casinos are based in a relatively small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of most borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel building that highlights a number of luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which offers ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and 88 tables.