There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is not permitted. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are allegedly required to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 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 latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that features a number of amenities accompanying the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.