There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is not permitted. Eight casinos are anchored in a generally small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling hall, highlights 150 slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that highlights many amenities aside from the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.