There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, features 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that features many luxuries on top of the gambling den, which offers 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and 88 gaming tables.
