Casino operator Las Vegas Sands relied on its Macau mass market strength to overcome a slump in VIP gaming in the first quarter of 2019.

On Wednesday, Sands reported revenue of $3.65b in the first three months of 2019, a modest 1.9% rise over the same period last year. But operating income slipped 16% to $971m and net income tumbled 54% to $744m, although it should be noted that Q1 2018 benefited from a one-off $670m benefit thanks to Donald Trump’s generous US tax cuts.

Interestingly, Sands noted that its results were negatively impacted by a “nonrecurring legal settlement,” which appears to be a reference to the settlement in March of Sands’ long-running court battle with Richard Suen. The amount of the settlement went undisclosed at the time, but the Q1 report suggests Sands paid Suen around $96m.

Getting back to the results, the all-important Sands China division reported revenue up 8% to $2.33b, adjusted earnings up 8.7% to $858m while net income was flat at $557m.