SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia -- On a Saturday afternoon late last year, dozens of dealers lounged around DV Casino waiting for their last paycheck. While they waited, workers hauled furniture out of the building's column-fronted entrance.

An influx of Chinese money and workers coupled with loose regulations fueled explosive growth in Cambodia's coastal city of Sihanoukville. (Nikkei montage)
Online casino ban slams the brakes on Sihanoukville's runaway growth