There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is banned. Eight casinos are established in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and although visas are supposedly required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits 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 eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains numerous luxuries in addition to the gambling den, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight table games.
