There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gambling is banned. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest 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 87 baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel building that features numerous luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.