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There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den gaming is not allowed. Eight casinos are based in a relatively small location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most borders.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling den, highlights 150 slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 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, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel compound that features many luxuries in addition to the gambling den, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 gaming tables.