There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den wagering is banned. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, contains 150 one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel building that contains numerous luxuries in addition to the gambling den, which houses ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.