There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling hall, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games 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 slot machines and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel complex that highlights many amenities on top of the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight tables.