This month, Crown Casinos beat Echo Entertainment out of the opportunity to expand Sydney’s gambling market. Now, the two casino companies are at it again, this time focusing on the expansion of Brisbane’s gambling market – and Crown is hoping for a repeat performance. Crown Casinos CEO Rowen Craigie has recently met with Brisbane Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney.
They are currently in talks over a potential proposal to build a new casino in the city, which would target high roller gamblers from Asia. “I think Brisbane has a great opportunity to capture a greater share of the Asian tourism market and grow that market,” Mr Craigie says. “We think Brisbane is a growth city”. Mr Craigie is proposing a casino that would be quite similar to the Syndey venue – except that it would not cater only to VIP players.
The casino would include a six-star hotel, a spa, a convention centre and high roller gambling facilities. It is competing with Echo Entertainment currently operates Brisbane’s Treasury Casino, and plans to build a second gambling venue in the CBD. The former site of the Treasury Casino would focus on high roller gambling and convention facilities.
Once again, both operators are presenting two entirely different plans, and it will be a fierce competition. Crown Casinos is convinced that Echo Entertainment will fail to create a world-class gambling venue that would attract international visitors. Mr Craigie believes that his company is capable of building a casino that would rival competition in Macau, drawing in visitors from Asia that have millions to spend.
Over the next few weeks, we will certainly see a great deal of competition between the two operators. This time, however, the companies have been discouraged from carrying out their competition in the public eye. Brisbane politicians will not tolerate a media battle like the one that occurred when Echo Entertainment and Crown Casinos competed for exclusivity in Sydney’s gambling market.
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