Casino industry veteran David Tsai takes the reins at Crown Resorts

Crown Resorts has named David Tsai as its new chief executive, as it continues to battle lagging tourism numbers and a tougher regulatory environment.

Crown has invested more than $200m in its transformation and remediation plans.

Crown Resorts has named casino industry veteran David Tsai as its new chief executive as it continues to battle lagging tourism numbers and a tougher regulatory environment.

Mr Tsai, currently acting CEO of the casino group, joined the group as Crown Perth chief in December 2022, helping steer the business through a period of significant transformation during the past two years

Crown Resorts chair John Borghetti said Mr Tsai was “a highly capable, proven and experienced integrated resorts executive”, Prior to joining Crown, he was a senior executive of MGM Grand Detroit & MGM Northfield Park in the US.

He replaces Ciarán Carruthers who will leave at the end of the year after a two-year stint that saw the casino operator regain favour with regulators and improve its performance.

Mr Carruthers has overseen Crown Resorts’ plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on new hospitality attractions, including bars and restaurants, and become less “casino-centric”.

“David will focus on the highest standards of guest experience across each of our resorts, including the refurbishment and launch of exciting new venues,” said Mr Borghetti.

New Crown chief executive David Tsai.

Crown has invested more than $200m in its transformation and remediation plans, including one-off spending on infrastructure and services to support responsible and safe gambling.

At the same time, it has been hit by lacklustre tourism numbers, with international arrivals at about 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and domestic discretionary spending subdued.

The introduction of mandatory carded play also had affected revenue, with some customers opting to go to pubs or clubs where cash is still ­accepted.

Mr Tsai said he looked forward to leading Crown Resorts through its next phase of transformation and development.

“Our goal is for Crown Resorts to be the ultimate entertainment destination in each of our cities, positioning Crown to thrive long into the future,” said Mr Tsai.

Crown racked up losses of $164.8m in the year to June 30, compared to $199.4m in the previous period, as it was hit by one-off remediation costs, depressed tourist numbers and the introduction of carded play.

Crown Resorts announced in April that it would slash up to 1000 jobs after a sharp drop in tourist numbers as well as gaming restrictions hit its performance.

Originally published as Casino industry veteran David Tsai takes the reins at Crown Resorts