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Crown wants special deal for high rollers - 26th August 2011...
A deluxe arrivals suite at Melbourne airport to give priority service to foreign high rollers is at the top of a Crown casino wish list.
The casino has approached airport management and the Government over setting up a private facility in which high rollers would get personal service from Customs and Immigration officials to speed them on their way.
Crown says Melbourne is at a disadvantage because its airport did not properly cater for VIP clients, who were increasingly being lured to Singapore's two new casino resorts.
The casino's chief executive officer, Rowen Craigie, said yesterday that Singapore airport had a special area where high rollers could be taken directly from their first-class airline seats to be processed so they would be on their way quickly to casino hotels.
Customs and Immigration officers came to the area to deal with the high rollers, who did not have to mix with the public during the process.
Arrangements were also made to clear their luggage quickly.
Unveiling a 14.9 per cent rise in Crown Ltd's annual net profit to $335 million, Mr Craigie said the company's strategy was to attract more gamblers from mainland China because South-East Asian high rollers increasingly preferred their own regions.
Crown's Burswood casino in Perth lost 32 per cent of its take from VIP gamblers in the past year, partly because of the lure of the casinos in Singapore, which had fast airport processing.
Melbourne airport and the State Government confirmed yesterday that Crown had raised the issue.
Airlines have the option of giving priority to passengers who can be processed through an express queue in Customs and Immigration.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon slammed the proposal as "smacking of elitism".
"This just shows how out of touch Crown is - we're not talking about diplomats or heads of state, we're talking about people who've just got lots of money," he said.
"Just because Singapore does it doesn't mean we should do it.
"Does this mean we'll trade passports for casino chips?"
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor last night said the Federal Government would not change the law to grant Crown's wish.
Club worker kidnapped by gang...
A masked gang has tied up workers at a licensed club in western NSW before ransacking the premises.
The gang of three abducted one of the employees, a 59-year-old man, from his home in Madden Street, Cobar, on Sunday night.
They bundled him into his car and drove to the club in nearby Bloxham Street, bursting in just after closing time and tying up two female workers.
With the three employees bound and helpless in an office, the gang ransacked the venue, stealing cash from a safe and the pokies and taking sporting memorabilia, police said.
They drove off in the 59-year-old man's Ford Falcon, later found abandoned and torched on Prince Street.
Anyone with info information is urged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Singapore resorts a threat to Burswood Casino revenue - 25th August 2011...
Competition from Singapore and ongoing renovations has hampered VIP gaming at Burswood Casino, with revenue slumping more than 32 per cent over the past year.
James Packer’s Crown Ltd - which owns Burswood, Crown Casino in Melbourne and holds a joint venture in Macau – today released its financial results for the 2011 financial year.
Net profit for the entire group rose 15 per cent on the previous year’s $292.3 million to $335.9 million, the company said today.
Revenue increased by 3 per cent from a year earlier to $2.41 billion.
Chief executive Rowen Craigie said the performance of Crown's Melbourne and Burswood casinos were mixed, while the Macau joint venture continues to get stronger.
``In the second half of the year we have seen some evidence in a few areas of our Australian operations of a softening in consumer sentiment and both properties continue to be impacted by complex-wide renovations,'' he said.
Competition from two Singapore resorts led to a reduction in VIP play at Burswood casino, he said.
Revenue from that stream dropped 32.3 per cent to $116.8 million, while main floor gaming revenue grew 4.4 per cent to $413.8 million. Non-gaming revenue grew 3.3 per cent to $169.7 million.
Hotel occupancy was 70.9 per cent at an average room rate of $246 per night at the Intercontinental, while at the Holiday Inn occupancy was at 91.4 per cent at $201 per night.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at Burswood were $176.2 million, down from $183.5 million a year earlier.
Crown Melbourne generated EBITDA of $511.1 million, down from $540.7 million in the prior year.
In the period since July 1, main floor gaming revenue at both Australian casinos was up 3.8 per cent, and non-gaming revenue was up 7.4 per cent, Crown said.
``Crown remains cautious given the general softening in consumer sentiment and recognises the need to carefully manage the continuing disruption to its customers from the redevelopment and refurbishment programs at the two casinos,'' it said.
The Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture in Macau, in which Crown holds a 33.4 per cent stake, delivered a gain of $34.9 million in the year for Crown.
A final dividend of 19c was declared, half franked.
Shares in Crown closed down 19c, or 2.35 per cent, at $7.90 today.
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CROWN WANTS MORE MIDDLE EAST GAMBLERS...
Casinos operator Crown Ltd wants more high-rolling gamblers from the Middle East to come to Australia.
Crown wants to improve links between the VIP gaming operations at the Aspinall's Club in London and its Australian casinos: Crown in Melbourne and Burswood in Perth.
Crown completed the acquisition of Aspinall's in May 2011.
``Aspinall's offers the group the opportunity probably to tap into the market that Aspinall's has traditionally serviced, which is the Middle East market,'' Crown chief executive Rowen Craigie told reporters today.
``It is not a source of business that Australian casinos have typically seen.
``But we think in better integrating the two operations (Australia and the UK), we would be hopeful to get some new business out of the Middle East to Australia.''
Mr Craigie said there were also many wealthy Chinese who did business in London and had family connections there.
``So, again I think that the idea that we might get some new business from Chinese visitors to London has potential,'' Mr Craigie said.
``Coming back the other way, we can refer some of our customers (at the Australian casinos) to London.''
Mr Craigie said Aspinall's needed a minor make-over to bring it up to speed, but nothing ``outrageous''.
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