There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not legal. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel complex that contains a number of comforts on top of the gambling den, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.