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There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is illegal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling den, features 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel building that highlights a number of comforts on top of the casino, which offers ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.