There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall betting is banned. Eight casinos are based in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel building that highlights a number of comforts in addition to the casino, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 table games.
