There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall wagering is illegal. Eight casinos are situated in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and although visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that contains a number of luxuries on top of the casino, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.