There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den gaming is illegal. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are ways around this, as is correct of many borders.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling den, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel complex that features a number of amenities aside from the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 table games.
