There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is illegal. Eight casinos are established in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, highlights 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and seventy table games 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 popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel compound that features numerous luxuries on top of the gambling den, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.