SJM Holdings, Macau’s original casino operator, saw profits fall over four-fifths in Q3 as VIPs continue to avoid Macau like the plague.

Macau casinos reported their 17th straight month of gaming revenue declines in October and recent weeks have seen other Macau casino operators report double-digit declines in revenue and profits. But none of those horror stories matched SJM’s profit fall.

SJM says gaming revenue in the three months ending Sept. 30 was down 38% to HKD 11.2b (US $1.45b), while earnings fell 49.5% to HKD 884m and profit slumped 81% to HKD 285m. However, the company says profits would have fallen a mere 65% were it not for a HKD 250m impairment charge on one of its investment instruments, so, er, hooray?

Total VIP gaming revenue across all SJM properties was down 47.5% to HKD 5.4b. VIP win rate improved nearly half a point to 3.36%, above the theoretical win range, which partially offset a 55% decline in VIP turnover. Mass market table revenue was down 24.9% to HKD 5.5b while slots and Tombola revenue fell 24% to HKD 272m.