There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are means around this, as is correct of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, contains 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel building that contains numerous comforts in addition to the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and eighty eight table games.
