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Crown Sydney chief resigns after long-awaited casino opening
By Amelia McGuire
Crown Sydney’s chief executive and group head of hospitality Simon McGrath has announced his exit from the casino giant eight months after joining the business.
Crown confirmed McGrath, who joined the company in February will leave in September. A spokesperson for Crown confirmed that the casino operator’s new owner Blackstone’s chosen replacement will be someone with extensive experience in the gaming sector.
“Simon has made an important contribution to Crown Sydney during his time as CEO, including overseeing the successful opening of Australia’s only VIP members-only casino, and we wish him all the best for the future,” the spokesperson said.
Chief executive Simon McGrath told staff on Friday he had resigned. Credit: Edwina Pickles
The role of group head of hospitality will not be filled as the private equity group shakes up the revamped company. McGrath joined Crown in February after leading Accor’s Pacific division for 15 years, where he ran almost 400 hotels and 18,000 employees.
Just two weeks after formerly taking the reins of Crown Resorts in July, Blackstone hired industry veteran Ciaran Carruthers to lead the group. Carruthers has 20 years of experience in Chinese gaming hub Macau and will move to Melbourne to take over from former Lendlease chief executive Steve McCann, who also only lasted at Crown Resorts for about a year.
Crown Resorts shareholders voted to accept an $8.9 billion takeover offer from Blackstone in May, ending three years of chaos under former major shareholder James Packer.
New York-based Blackstone stalked ASX-listed Crown for more than a year before the pair finally agreed on an all-cash takeover deal worth $13.10 in February.
Crown has been in turmoil since mid-2019, when The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes revealed how it had been infiltrated by international criminal syndicates and money launderers.
Since then, government inquiries in all three states where Crown operates have ruled it unfit to hold a casino licence, preventing it from opening the high-roller casino at its new $2.2 billion tower at Barangaroo, Sydney in late 2020.
Crown was forced to overhaul its board, management and procedures to satisfy the regulators, who approved a conditional licence for Crown to operate its Barangaroo casino in June. The conditional licence is valid until December 31, 2023.
On August 8, Crown opened its members only casino’s main gaming floor, the Crystal Room, which features 160 tables and 66 electronic tables. The launch was almost two years after the Barangaroo resort opened and a decade after Packer launched his campaign to build the gambling facility.
In October, the exclusive floor, called the Mahogany Room, will also open 30 private salons.
As a VIP-only facility, Crown Barangaroo has no poker machines. A minimum bet of $20 applies.
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