There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, where casino betting is not legal. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest 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 machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that features numerous luxuries aside from the casino, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight table games.