Normally losing a monopoly position is bad for business. And so it would seem odd that Stanley Ho Hung-sun was all smiles when his 40-year exclusive gambling licence rights in Macau came to an end on Friday.
Less odd was the 20 per cent spike in Shun Tak Holdings a week before, as punters drove up the only listed vehicle giving access to some of Mr Ho's gambling riches.
While Mr Ho may lose his right to exclusively run gambling in the former Portuguese enclave, he still owns the ferries bringing customers from Hong Kong, owns a string of hotels, part of a golf course, travel businesses and is building a theme park, convention and entertainment centre being touted as the world's 'highest free-standing tower'.
There are two problems with this picture, in terms of punting on Shun Tak's stock.
One is that Shun Tak is exposed to a relative sliver of the Macau businesses - in 2000 property development (mostly in Hong Kong) contributed 74 per cent of operating profit.
The other is that Macau is but a shadow of the exciting getaway spot it was known as in its heyday. These days it is often associated with chain-smoking card addicts, half-empty hotels and triad violence.