There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den gaming is banned. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect area, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and despite the fact visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, features 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots 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 banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that features a number of conveniences aside from the gambling den, which offers 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.
