There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is illegal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (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 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel building that highlights numerous amenities accompanying the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.