There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, where casino wagering is against the law. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous comforts on top of the casino, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.