In Australia, casino operators are busy creating new, exciting and expensive gambling venues. In 2019, $1 billion high roller casino will be built by Crown Casinos, and Echo Entertainment has plans to upgrade The Treasury Casino in Brisbane. Now, Cairns’ casino market could be getting the royal treatment, as tycoon Tony Fung makes plans to build a new gambling venue worth $4.2 billion.

Like most of the new casinos in Australia, Aquis will target high roller gamblers from Asia. The property will host 750 table games and 1000 gaming machines. The resort will also include a luxury retail centre and two theatres. As such, it will be somewhat larger than Crown Casino’s property in Melbourne. It could be comparable in size to Crown Casino’s Sydney property, which will be built in 2019.

Tony Fung recognizes that there is a great deal of competition over Asian high rollers in the Australian gambling industry. As VIP casinos will be popping up in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, Cairns has to up its ante in order to stay relevant among this key market.

"I have recognised the unique suitability of the Cairns region to develop an integrated resort, based upon the Macau model," Fung said in a statement on the project’s website. "Aquis gives Queensland an opportunity to fend off its southern and regional competitors for the increasingly important Chinese tourism market." Fung has submitted a proposal for his casino plans, which are being considered a ‘coordinated project’.

It has been classified as such because the approval will be quite complex. In addition to requiring approval for the proposal, its environmental impact will have to be assessed and there are several other steps that need to be taken before the Fung can begin construction. If all goes as planned, Fung aims for the Aquis casino resort to be open by 2018.

The new venue will create 26,700, which will greatly benefit the local community and boost the economy.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.