There is an interesting history to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, financial sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel building that highlights a number of amenities in addition to the gambling den, which provides ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.