There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is illegal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge 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 casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and although visas are allegedly required to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau casino, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machines and seventy tables 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 (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that features numerous conveniences aside from the casino, which has ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.
