There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and even though visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens 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 moored barge casino, features 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous comforts accompanying the gambling den, which offers 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight tables.