There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where casino gaming is illegal. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of many borders.

The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 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 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel building that highlights many comforts on top of the gambling den, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.