There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gaming is not allowed. Eight casinos are based in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are allegedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel compound that highlights numerous luxuries on top of the casino, which provides ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 table games.