There is an appealing history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from next door Thailand, in which casino gaming is illegal. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, features 150 slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel building that highlights many amenities accompanying the gambling den, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 table games.
