There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, where casino gambling is against the law. Eight casinos are established in a relatively tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect area, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling den, features 150 slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel building that highlights many conveniences on top of the casino, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.