There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den wagering is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall 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 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel complex that contains many conveniences in addition to the casino, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.
