There is an appealing story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino betting is against the law. Eight casinos are anchored in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that features many conveniences in addition to the casino, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.