There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is against the law. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are 150 slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that features a number of conveniences on top of the casino, which has ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight tables.
