There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den wagering is prohibited. Eight casinos are established in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime location, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are apparently needed to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many borders.

The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 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 soon followed. There are 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most popular 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. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel complex that features many amenities aside from the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and eighty eight gaming tables.