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There is an interesting story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den betting is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.

The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel building that highlights a number of comforts on top of the gambling den, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.