There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, features one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga casino is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall 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 one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel complex that contains many amenities in addition to the gambling den, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.
