There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and despite the fact visas are allegedly necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of 21, 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, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machine games and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that contains a number of conveniences accompanying the gambling den, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and 88 tables.