Crown Resorts taps into China’s lucky day with plans to open gaming floor at new $2.2bn casino in Barangaroo on August 8
The gaming giant, which recently cut ties with James Packer, taps into China’s lucky day with plans to finally open its gaming floor at its new $2.2bn casino in Barangaroo on August 8.
Crown Resorts will finally open its gaming floor at its new $2.2bn casino in Barangaroo in two weeks – more than a month after gaining conditional approval from the NSW regulator – and selecting a date that is hoped to resonate with cashed-up Chinese gamblers.
The formerly James Packer-backed company – which US private equity behemoth Blackstone took over in an $8.9bn deal last month – has scheduled August 8 as the opening floor, which is designed to cater for VIP high-rollers. And that date’s meaning will not be lost on the Chinese market.
August 8 – the eighth day or the eighth month – is considered one of the luckiest days in the year, with the double 8 said to bring joy, with the Cantonese word for eight even sounding like the word for ‘prosper’ in the same language.
Crown has tested its luck for the best part of the past decade, which culminated in three inquiries in three states after it was found to have facilitated money laundering and other organised crime.
The opening of Barangaroo’s gaming floor comes a decade after Mr Packer met with then NSW premier Barry O’Farrell over lunch at Alan Jones’s apartment to hatch plans for a new casino in Sydney.
Despite selling his 37 per cent stake in the company and pocketing about $3.3bn in the Blackstone deal ending his family’s decades-long involvement with the company, Mr Packer has confirmed that he will move into his $60m apartment at Barangaroo.
“I am coming back to Sydney, with Erica and my kids, all together, to stay at our family apartment at Crown Sydney for the first time next March. I can’t wait to see Crown Sydney, and to be in Sydney with my kids and with Eri,” Mr Packer told The Australian last month.
The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority has granted Crown a conditional licence to operate its casino under strict conditions, many of which remain commercial-in-confidence.
In a statement, Crown said Sydney would offer “intimate gaming” operations set over two “luxurious VIP gaming floors”: Crystal Room and Mahogany Room, with interiors designed by internationally renowned Australian architecture firm Bates Smart. It will also feature 12 additional exclusive private Sky Salons.
In total, the facilities will include about 160 gaming tables and 70 electronic table games, as well as premium dining options and outdoor terrace areas.
Crown Sydney chief executive Simon McGrath said: “The opening of our gaming operations at Crown Sydney is a defining moment for Crown, and the culmination of months of hard work“.
“The entire team at Crown Sydney has been preparing for this moment for a long time and we felt the symbolism of the 08.08 date represented ideal timing to open our doors,” Mr McGrath said.
“We look forward to showcasing our exclusive and unique gaming experience to our VIP members and their guests from next month.
“We are committed to delivering a safe and responsible gaming environment for all, and Crown Sydney’s restricted gaming facility has been designed with the highest levels of governance and compliance. It is the only casino of its kind in Australia, with all patrons required to be a member or guest of a member and undergo comprehensive checks.”
ILGA chairman Philip Crawford said the conditions imposed on Crown were a world-first and the regulator had worked with the company for more than a year to ensure it would not relapse into its past wrongs.
Mr Crawford said there were “pages and pages” of rules for Crown, but the specifics had not been released as they were “probably commercial in confidence”.
In general, the restrictions on Crown will include betting limits on gaming tables and an onus on the company to know the identities of gamblers and the source of their funds.
“It’s a very unusual set of circumstances in Australia and probably around the world,” Mr Crawford said last month. “I think you can assume if it’s best practice, we would be imposing them on anyone who wants to come into the state.”
Despite opening the resort at Barangaroo in late 2020, Crown has been prevented from using the gaming floors after an ILGA-initiated inquiry concluded it was not suitable to hold a licence to operate a casino in Sydney.
The Bergin inquiry was established after Mr Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings agreed in 2019 to sell a 19.9 per cent stake in the company to Melco Resorts, a company associated with Stanley Ho, a Hong Kong businessman with alleged links to criminal gangs.
Mr Crawford said the Bergin inquiry highlighted the “scale and scope of issues to be remediated by Crown, with potentially billions of dollars having been laundered through its casinos”.
He said the conditional licence did not mean Crown was yet to regain its suitability to hold a NSW casino licence. “We still can find them unsuitable after 18 months, two years. If we’re not satisfied they’re suitable, we can go into a process which ultimately finds they are unsuitable.”
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