There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which casino wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect area, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 1700, and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are ways around this, as is accurate of many border crossings.

The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat casino, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest 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 166 slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that highlights many conveniences aside from the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 tables.