There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight casinos are established in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.

The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat (the most popular 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 one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of conveniences in addition to the casino, which contains 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and 88 table games.