There is an interesting history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gaming is illegal. Eight casinos are anchored in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel building that highlights numerous amenities aside from the gambling hall, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.
