There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are apparently needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 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 followed. There are 150 slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and seventy 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 beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel building that features many luxuries in addition to the gambling hall, which houses 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight table games.