There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are situated in a generally small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are supposedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that features a number of conveniences on top of the gambling den, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.