There is an interesting story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den betting is not allowed. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that highlights many luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.