There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is banned. Eight casinos are established in a generally tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect area, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling hall, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall 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 slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that highlights many luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight tables.
