Crown chief James Packer's involvement in a planned US$1.5bn casino project in the Philippines now seems to be in doubt following his office's denial that an agreement was about to be finalised.
It had been reported that Packer was in advanced talks with a company called Bloombury regarding the building of the casino resort. That followed a statement by Dodie King, a spokesman for the government-run PAGCORP, which runs casinos in the Philippines, that a deal will be signed with Packer "within the next few weeks."
However, Crown then issued a statement saying that neither it nor Packer were involved in such talks. Crown said that the arrangements between it and Bloombury are "not finalised" and that any potential investment in the project would involve "minimal equity on the part of Crown."
If the deal does go ahead, it will be Packer’s first casino project in Asia outside Macau. The Bloombury resort will form part of a $20bn project which PAGCOR hopes will turn 120 hectares of reclaimed land on Manila Bay into one of Asia’s biggest gaming destinations.
