There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is not legal. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling hall, contains 150 slot machine games and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel building that highlights many conveniences in addition to the casino, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.