When James Packer proposed his high roller casino for Barangaroo, he stated that the venue would only cater to VIP players. This meant that it would not include any poker machines or games with limits that would appeal to casual players. Now, gaming industry experts are calling Packer’s bluff, stating that it is very likely that the venue will include pokies.
This week, Premier Barry O’Farrell approved the terms of Crown Limited’s “VIP restricted gaming facility”. As part of the agreement, minimum wagers for games were agreed upon, including a $20 minimum for blackjack and a $30 minimum for blackjack. Players at the casino will only be able to take part in a hand of these games if they can afford to wager the minimum, restricting the casino floor to high rollers and VIPs.
However, the minimum that will be imposed at Crown Sydney actually pale in comparison to the minimum wagers required at other VIP facilities across Australia. According to the Sydney Morning Herald VIP rooms at Crown Melbourne and Jupiters Gold Coast require a $50 minimum wager on their table games. As such, gaming experts are wondering if the new Crown Sydney venue will actually be exclusive to VIPs.
''Frankly, it's kind of a sham that they're saying it's a high-rollers-only casino, and then putting the limits at 25 and 30 bucks,'' says Dr Sudhir Kale, a Marketing Professor from Bond University. Dr Kale has done the math, and he estimates that each table at the casino would earn $6500 a day.
However, this is not entirely possible if the casino operator were to depend solely on the custom of high rollers, the smallest and most competitive market in Australia’s gambling industry. The current business model seems unrealistic to local gambling researchers and gaming experts. According to them, it seems unlikely that the venue will thrive without catering to casual gamers.
They predict that it won’t be long before pokies and lower limit games are introduced at Crown Sydney.
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