There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino gambling is against the law. Eight casinos are situated in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, 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 hall, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. A total of 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that features numerous luxuries in addition to the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.
