There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is illegal. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent area, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 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 the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that features numerous luxuries aside from the casino, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.
