One of the tenets of good business is having an exit strategy. Terry Serepisos has enjoyed the good times, amassing a fortune that once had him among the country's wealthiest individuals, but he has become a victim of the bad and the time has come for him to relinquish control of the Wellington Phoenix.
He has clung on desperately as his empire has fallen around him and he steadfastly believes he will continue to own the Phoenix for some time yet. He might survive - and you can only admire his ability to endure this long under the weight of massive debt - but it's doing little for the prospects of a football club about to kick off a new season.
Serepisos' debts now total more than $200 million and, as much as he has said he won't let go of the Phoenix, it might be taken out of his hands. Football Federation Australia are expected to revoke his licence in the coming days if he can't prove he has money in the bank and hand it to a Wellington consortium made up of some of the city's wealthiest individuals.
Gareth Morgan, one of the Phoenix Five ready to take over the club, said Serepisos was "a real hero'' and needed "to be given every opportunity to see if he can do his Houdini [act] yet again''.
Not all of Houdini's acts ended well.