There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino gambling is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; still, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved 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 table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel building that highlights numerous comforts on top of the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.