There is an interesting history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino gambling is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are apparently required to pass, there are methods around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling hall, features 150 slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that features numerous conveniences aside from the casino, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 tables.