There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino gambling is against the law. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of many borders.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty tables. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots 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 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that contains many conveniences accompanying the casino, which contains ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 tables.