There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is not legal. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling den, features 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machine games and five 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 contains 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the normal tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that highlights a number of amenities aside from the gambling den, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.