There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, where casino betting is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that highlights many luxuries on top of the casino, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.
