There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino wagering is against the law. Eight casinos are situated in a generally tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 17:00, and though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos 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 stationary barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel compound that contains a number of luxuries on top of the casino, which has 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight tables.