There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; still, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered 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 boat gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that contains many amenities in addition to the gambling den, which houses ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.
