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There is a captivating history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino wagering is illegal. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many border crossings.

The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel complex that highlights a number of luxuries on top of the gambling den, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.