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There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling den wagering is against the law. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 1700, and even though visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.

The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 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 soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains a number of conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.