There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that features numerous conveniences on top of the gambling den, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.
