The latest trend among casino operators in Australia is targeting high rollers from overseas. Known in the industry as ‘whales’, these players spend millions of dollars on trips to local casinos. The Star Casino was the first to cater to the demographic with a billion-dollar renovation and operators like Crown Casinos are trying to compete.

Now, Echo Entertainment is upping the ante yet again in an attempt to direct most of the high roller business to its casinos. The casino operator plans to spend $20 million upgrade its Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast. The renovation will include luxury hotel suites targeted at high roller visitors and improved VIP gaming facilities. 30 regular suites will be demolished and replaced with luxury two-storey villas.

These types of upgrades are common for casinos hoping to attract whales, so Jupiters is adding another unique perk. Echo Entertainment has recently leased two private jets for the purposes for transporting players to and from the casino. "The market on the Gold Coast is not going to grow as fast as we want it to grow,” says Aaron Gomez of Echo Entertainment. “

"We needed to figure a way to grow the pie and the quickest and easiest way to do that is through the VIP (high-roller) business." When Echo Entertainment spent $1 billion on its renovations for The Star casino, the results were plentiful. In the year after the renovations, the casino brought in $300 million, increasing high roller revenue by 60%.

The operator hopes that a similar effect will be seen when Jupiters reveals its new high roller makeover. Still, Echo Entertainment is in direct competition with Crown Casinos. The gambling operator earns $30 billion per year from its Melbourne location, and the company’s plans to launch a new casino in Bangaroo will make the stakes even higher for Echo Entertainment.

So, it is important that the operator act fast, and this is Echo’s solution to the impending rivalry.

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.