There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is illegal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued 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 few controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many borders.

The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that contains many comforts aside from the gambling den, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.