There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling den, features 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous luxuries in addition to the gambling den, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight tables.
