There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which casino betting is illegal. Eight casinos are situated in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are apparently needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 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 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel compound that highlights many comforts in addition to the casino, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight gaming tables.