James Packer’s Crown Resorts is pressing ahead with its plans for a Las Vegas resort, having acquired land on the Las Vegas Strip previously occupied by the New Frontier casino.
The 34.6-acre site was acquired by the Australian company for US$280m. It plans to break ground on the project, which is still to be finalised, in 2015.
Crown has formed a new resort company with Andrew Pascal, former president and COO of Wynn Las Vegas, with financial support from Oaktree Capital Management.
“You can’t be in the gaming industry and not have a special reverence for Las Vegas – that’s where it all began,” said Packer. “As we have built Crown Resorts into a thriving international company with successful casino ventures in Australia, Macau and London, we’ve always kept our eye on Las Vegas.
“And while we fell short in past attempts to enter the market, we now have the ideal opportunity – with a great local partner in
Andrew, a leading financial investor in Oaktree and the perfect piece of property.”
Crown expects to complete the new resort in 2018.
