Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group reported H1 profit down sharply thanks to the hot hands of Asian VIP gamblers.

For the six months ending Dec. 31, The Star (formerly Echo Entertainment) reported net profit after tax down 38% to A$60m (US $42.9m). Revenue was down a more moderate 2.6% to $1.1b but earnings fell 19.6% to $192.6m, driven down by increased operating expenses in domestic gaming and a truly crappy win rate at The Star’s VIP tables.

Win rate for what the company calls its international VIP Rebate business was a mere 0.88%, well below the the 1.33% average in H115 and the historic average of 1.43%. The plunge was so dramatic the company plans to reduce the historic normalization rate to 1.35% when it comes time to compute the FY16 results.

Overall VIP win was down 33% to $207m despite total VIP turnover rising 1.5% to $23.6b, of which 78% was derived from The Star’s relationships with junket operators (down from 84% the previous year). Overdue (but not yet written off) VIP debts were $16m for the period, on par with figures reported last June.