There is an appealing history to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den betting is illegal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect location, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling hall, highlights 150 slots and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel complex that contains a number of luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.
