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There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the border from nearby Thailand, where casino wagering is illegal. Eight casinos are established in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are apparently needed to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, highlights 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table 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 soon opened. A total of 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel building that highlights numerous comforts accompanying the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 gaming tables.