Crown Sydney Casino Gets Green Light

New South Wales government okays James Packer’s Crown Sydney Casino.

Sydney Morning Herald has learned that Crown Resorts were given consent by the New South Wales government to go ahead with the planned casino and six-star hotel on the city’s waterfront at Barangaroo.

The facility has yet to receive approval from the Planning Assessment Commission, expected midway through the current year, but that is unlikely to be a problem, according to the latest reports.

James Packer, the owner of 53 percent of Crown Resorts, had to make some compromises with the government in order to ensure his ambitions project is not shut down.

Opening Date Pushed from 2019 to 2021

The biggest victory for Packer is that his company were given the go ahead to create a VIP gaming floor in an attempt to compete with casinos in Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau.

Under the terms of the latest agreement, that will push the opening date from late 2019 to early 2021, the gaming operator has agreed to increase the width of the public area as well as make certain changes to the facade of the podium, but Packer does not believe said changes will have major effect on the casino’s revenues.

The Crown Resorts majority shareholder is, however, worried that splitting the casino floor could have a negative effect on returns, as witnessed by similar experiences from their Macau properties Altira and City of Dreams.

Mr Packer was also allowed to use the company’s gold logo at the top of the building, which is another important victory for the world-famous casino operator.

Packer, however, had to agree to build a 250-meter high observation platform that will be open to public and become a part of a guided tour for visitors from around the world.

The projected $2 billion cost of construction could be exceeded due to some unexpected amendments, with Crown Resorts already paying the government of New South Wales $100 million back in 2014 to obtain Sydney’s second casino license.

The Star Entertainment Group is currently in charge of the only Sydney casino and they were certainly happy to hear that there will be another five or six years before the first rival casino opens its doors to the public.