There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, in which casino betting is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, contains 150 one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the normal tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that features numerous comforts accompanying the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.