There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are means around this, as is real of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling hall, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (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 one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel compound that features many luxuries aside from the gambling den, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and eighty eight gaming tables.