The sudden decision by James Packer's Crown Resorts to cut its stake in Macau-focused casino group Melco Crown Entertainment was widely praised by analysts and investors who wanted Packer to take his winnings off the table and had grown impatient waiting for Macau's casino sector to turn around.
But there are signs that might be what's happening.
Data out from the Macau government this week showed that the number of tourists who stay at least one night in Macau rose 10 per cent in November and accounted for 53 per cent of total arrivals.
The number of visitors who visit for one day – these are seen as the visitors who come specifically to gamble – dropped 9.7 per cent.
The data suggests that Macau's attempt to become slightly less of a gaming Mecca and more of a destination for other tourists is starting to happen.
Macau has been rocked in recent years by crackdowns on corruption and, by extension, gambling by Chinese authorities.
It became clear to casino operators like Melco Crown that they needed another source of growth. Melco's Studio City casino resort was one of the first operators to try and cater to the tourist market; it opened in 2015 with a big Batman ride and a Ferris wheel shaped in a figure eight.
Of course, the tourist dollar remains far, far less important than the gambling one; only 6 per cent of revenue in Macau comes from non-gambling sources, compared with more than 60 per cent in that other gambling Mecca, Las Vegas.
But having a diversified revenue base will help put Macau on a much more sustainable footing.
Crown still holds an 11.2 per cent stake in Melco, although for how long it will retain the shares isn't clear at this stage. In the short-term at least its likely to be gaming, rather than tourism, that drives the Melco share price.
Macau's gaming data for December will be released in the next week. The data previously showed growth in the four straight months to the end of November, with turnover in the final month was up 14 per cent.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect full-year gambling receipts of about $US28 billion. The annual fall in revenue is likely to be about 3.5 per cent across the year, but that's nothing like the 34 per cent drop see in 2015.
Melco shares are down a bit over 2 per cent since the start of 2016, compared to a 27 per cent rise in Bloomberg Intelligence's Macau gaming index.
If Melco can get a bit of that momentum in the coming months then Packer's final sell down might be a very pleasant farewell to Macau.
