There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing 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 required to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are means around this, as is accurate of many border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling den, contains 150 slots and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel building that highlights numerous luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.