There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gambling is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel complex that contains numerous amenities on top of the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and eighty eight gaming tables.
