There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gaming is banned. Eight casinos are established in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are allegedly required to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel complex that contains numerous conveniences accompanying the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.