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There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den wagering is banned. Eight casinos are based in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The first Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling den, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy gaming 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 (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel compound that contains many conveniences in addition to the casino, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.