There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving 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 gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat casino, highlights 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel compound that features numerous luxuries on top of the casino, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 gaming tables.
