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There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, in which casino betting is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect area, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel compound that features many conveniences accompanying the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.