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There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; although, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are allegedly necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is real of many borders.

The initial 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 ship gambling hall, contains 150 slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel complex that highlights a number of conveniences in addition to the casino, which has ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.