There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the border from next door Thailand, in which casino betting is banned. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, financial sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge casino, contains 150 slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that features many luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 table games.
