There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income acquired from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one 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 soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel building that highlights many amenities aside from the casino, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.