There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gambling is illegal. Eight casinos are established in a relatively small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent destination, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming 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 only very few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that features many amenities on top of the gambling den, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and eighty eight tables.