There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many borders.

The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved 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 a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel building that highlights numerous amenities accompanying the gambling hall, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 gaming tables.