There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino betting is not legal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and although visas are apparently needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling hall, features 150 slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that contains numerous comforts accompanying the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 table games.