There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is against the law. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently needed to pass, there are means around this, as is accurate of many borders.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous amenities aside from the gambling den, which contains 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and eighty eight tables.