There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino betting is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel building that contains many amenities aside from the casino, which houses 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and 88 table games.
