James Packer, who is an Australian billionaire and also the second-richest man in Australia, wants to build the tallest casino in Las Vegas. This casino would cost about $ 5 bn.
First Packer and his group called Crown, wanted to build a tower which would have been 575 meter tall and at the same time it would have been the highest building in the world, but the Federal Aviation Administration was against it because the tower would obstacle planes landing at the McCarran airport. James Packer has been expanding with the crown group also all around the USA. He has casinos in Melbourne, Perth and Macau.
The final project of the Crown group is a 5 000 room hotel, a 324 meter tall tower, which would be the highest one in Las Vegas.
Crown’s chief executive, Rowen Craigie claimed that it wasn’t easy to develop a commercially viable project.
This project was a joint venture with a private equity firm, York Capital Management. It wasn’t even easy to obtain funding from banks, because of the American economic downturn. A portfolio manager at Australia’s White Funds Management, Angus Gluskie affirmed that it’s a difficult moment in the economy. There’s a slowing growth environment and the gaming sector is on a short-term risk.
James Packer’s father, Kerr Packer, was a legendary gambler who gained more than $ 50 million in Las Vegas. He died in 2005.
