With mass players expected to give Macau a wide berth for the time being, analysts Praveen Choudhary and Alex Poon suggested that Macau will temporarily rely on the VIP sector to help China’s special administrative region get back on its feet.

"We think Macau GGR will rebound sharply this week and in September, as the temporary shutdown of casinos or facilities this past week will not have any permanent impact,” the Morgan Stanley analysts said.

"We expect VIP to recover faster than mass. This, along with additional operating expenses or maintenance, is likely to mean lower earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins in the third quarter of 2017,” they added.

They also revised their earlier estimate of 24 % growth for Macau GGR in August to 18 % as a result of the most destructive typhoon to hit Macau since 1999.

Source: GMB / Calvin Ayre