There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino wagering is banned. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 1700, and even though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, contains 150 slots and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous amenities aside from the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 tables.