CR63-p10-World1:SJC-Casino Review 22/12/07 20:35 Page 1
casinoreview
Caesars to offer biggest blackjack bets in Las Vegas
Tropicana Entertainment will the property under the control
Harrah’s is raising the stakes at its Caesars Palace casino to
Tropicana
sell three casinos, its Atlantic of a trustee until a new owner
attract the biggest gamblers in the world with the highest stakes
to shed City property, Casino Aztar in can be found.
in Las Vegas. The casino is upping betting limits to allow players
three
Evansville and the Horizon
to bet up to $50,000 per hand at blackjack, as well as online bets venues to
Vicksburg Casino in
at craps. Caesars president Gary Selesner said the new limits
stay
Vicksburg, in order to repay
its outstanding senior debt.
would allow the casino to better migrate high rollers from Harrah’s
solvent
Tropicana lost control of the
London Clubs casinos in England and Cairo.
Tropicana Casino in Atlantic
City after New Jersey gaming
regulators refused to renew a
gambling license for the
WORLDNEWS
property.
The New Jersey Casino
Control Commission placed
Packer boosts his US hand
Sun gets
with US$2bn investment
Chilean
go-ahead
Australian gaming heir James Packer
biggerandbetter
promised international expansion in 2007 and
CHILE
was continuing to deliver right up until the
The gaming regulator in Chile
New Year. Following on from a purchase in has approved South African
Canada, a joint investment in the UK and a
operator Sun International to
new venture in Las Vegas, he returned to the
take a significant role in what is
expected to be the country’s
US in December to buy four further venues. most lucrative casino project.
Sun will now go ahead with
fourplay Hotel and Casino, Rampart its plans to acquire 40 per cent
UNITED STATES Casino and Nevada Palace of the San Francisco Invest-
Casino.The fourth casino in ment SA, the Chilean company
As his company prepares to Pittsburgh, the Meadows that holds a 15-year licence to
develop a 5,000-room Racetrack and Casino, is operate a casino in Region Six,
Crown Tower on the Las being redeveloped, as is the the closest to the capital Santi-
Vegas’s Strip, James Packer Nevada Palace, which will ago, which generated
returned to the US to buy a be renamed the East Cannery 45 per cent of the country’s
further four casinos for Casino. At completion the gross domestic product.
US$2bn. four venues will give Crown Phase one of the casino resort
Packer’s Melbourne- 8,400 poker machines, 75 project is scheduled to open
based gaming group Crown tables and more than 720 in October 2008.
agreed to pay $1.75bn plus hotel rooms. The resort, which is
estimated acquisition costs Crown has already expected to cost circa $200m
of $49.6m for CCR. invested $250m for a 19.6 (140m euros), will be located
Australia’s richest man, per cent share in two on the Panamericana Sur
Packer recently seperated his Fontainebleau resort casinos highway, 57kms south of Santi-
burgeoning casino portfolio being developed in Las Vegas ago. It will include 1,500 slot
from his media assets into and Miami, and was hoping machines, 80 gaming tables
Consolidated Media Holdings. to make the $5.6bn Crown and 300 bingo positions as
He promised international Las Vegas tower the tallest and an investment in an exist- long-term growth prospects,” The Meadows Racetrack well as a 155-room hotel, a
expansion for the casino divi- building in the US at 576m, ing operator in Britain. he said. “Crown’s skills and and Casino in Pennsylvania, spa, sports facilities and an
sion, Crown, which having but the US Federal Aviation Packer, Crown’s chair- experience in operating suc-
one of four US casinos
1,800-seat conference centre
purchased Cannery Casino Administration ruled last man and major shareholder, cessful local casinos will
bought by James Packer
in addition to the usual range
Resorts, saw its Las Vegas prop- month the structure would said the company would enable us to grow the CCR of restaurants and other enter-
erty portfolio hit five. pose a hazard to air traffic. transform the local casinos business further.” facilities without exposure to tainment facilities.
The new acquisitions The building’s height was into success stories and Crown chief executive construction risk and without Sun’s chief executive, David
comprise three Las Vegas then capped at 324m. further enhance the Rowen Craigie said the high capital expenditure Coutts-Trotter, said: “The SJC
casinos and the Meadows This latest deal represents company’s reputation. casino purchase was “strate- requirements,” Craigie said. [the Chilean gaming regulator]
Racetrack and Casino Crown’s first investment in “Cannery’s existing share- gically and financially com- The deal is subject to US has also recently approved a
complex in Pennsylvania. existing US casinos and holders have created first- pelling for Crown”. regulatory approvals which number of enhancements we
The three existing casinos follows similar “bricks and class local properties located “It presents Crown with are expected to take about proposed to the original
are Las Vegas’s Cannery mortar” purchases in Canada in markets with attractive, high-quality new or near-new 12 months. design with regard to facili-
ties, planning and design. The
effect of these changes will
be to improve capacity,
US military could have had its slot
service levels and quality in
respect of the ultimate
product. This will add to the
appeal of the complex as a
casualtyofwar pilot, who became addicted activities. More than half of destination for local and inter-
UNITED STATES to gambling, spending the machines are run by the national visitors.”
nearly $20,000 on military Army. The Army machines The principal alterations
A substantial international slots in 2005. return in winnings 93.5 per were increasing the size of the
slot market could be wiped The bill’s sponsor, Rep. cent of the money put into hotel, additional parking and
out if a bill put before the Lincoln Davis, D-Tennessee, them. The remaining 6.5 per entertainment facilities, putting
US Congress to ban military who named the bill after cent is kept by the military. all gaming on one level, a new
slot machines overseas is Walsh, said:“If Amer ican men In a statement released high quality salon privé and
approved. and women are willing to by the Pentagon earlier this moving the retail and entertain-
The US Army operates serve our country overseas year, Undersecretary of ment precinct.
3,000 slot machines on over- we should not be depend- Defense Leslye Arsht said “The total built area at the
seas posts, raising US$130m ent on them to pay for recre- gambling on bases and site will consequently grow by
in revenue each year. ational activities they posts provides “a controlled some 50 per cent,” said
The bill’s introduction deserve. The risks are simply alternative to unmonitored Coutts-Trotter. “Together with
comes after a story was fea- too high and too many to host-nation gambling the superior quality of finishes
tured in a CNN investiga- ask that of our soldiers.” venues and offers a higher we are introducing and the
tive report covering the The Warrant Officer Aaron ating slot machines on mili- machines to fund morale, payment percentage, installation of the latest
suicide of Army Warrant Walsh Stop DOD-Sponsored tary bases. The Defence welfare and recreation pro- making it more entertain- systems in gaming technology,
Officer Aaron Walsh, a deco- Gambling Act would pro- Department uses money grams on bases, building ment oriented than that it will result in an increase in the
rated Apache helicopter hibit the military from oper- raised by the gaming projects and community found at typical casinos.” overall investment at Mostazal.”
10 January 2008 worldnews
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