There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which casino wagering is illegal. Eight casinos are established in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent area, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest 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 machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that features a number of amenities in addition to the gambling den, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight gaming tables.