There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, where casino wagering is not legal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods around this, as is correct of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and seventy 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 banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel compound that contains many luxuries accompanying the casino, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 table games.