There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where casino betting is banned. Eight casinos are based in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, highlights 150 slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that features many luxuries on top of the gambling den, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 tables.