There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling den betting is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly required to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.

The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling den, contains 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as 1 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 one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that features many comforts aside from the gambling hall, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight table games.