There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent area, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income acquired 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 restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; still, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is correct of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel complex that features a number of comforts on top of the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.