There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den wagering is banned. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table 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 soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel complex that contains numerous comforts in addition to the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 tables.