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There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is not legal. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling hall 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 one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that contains a number of comforts in addition to the gambling den, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.