There is an appealing story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively small location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are supposedly required to cross, there are means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel building that contains many amenities in addition to the gambling hall, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.