There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gaming is against the law. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime destination, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are means around this, as is correct of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that highlights a number of amenities on top of the gambling hall, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.
