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There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is banned. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods around this, as is correct 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 sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 gaming 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 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that features a number of conveniences on top of the gambling den, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 table games.