There is an appealing history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is not permitted. Eight casinos are established in a generally tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of most borders.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat casino, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 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 opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel building that features many comforts on top of the casino, which offers ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight gaming tables.