There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is against the law. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many border crossings.

The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that contains a number of luxuries in addition to the casino, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 tables.