Crown Resorts Decides to Close Gaming Room at Crown Sydney

Posted on September 1, 2023 | 6:36 am
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Crown Resorts, the biggest owner and operator of land-based casinos in Australia, has announced that it will close one of the two VIP gaming floors at its Sydney casino and lay off 95 staff.

The company noted that the measure is “temporary” and that it will commence a voluntary redundancy program in order to lay off the 95 employees due to “macroeconomic challenges.”

The gaming room that will be closed is the so-called “Mahogany Room” and all customers will be directed to the “Crystal Room” for the time being. A spokesperson for The Blackstone Group, the company that acquired Crown Resorts in 2022, declared that the decision to “consolidate” the two VIP casino floors in Sydney comes as a response “to the current macroeconomic challenges facing the gaming industry.”

The Blackstone Group spokesperson added that the company will work together with the employees and their union to hopefully place as many of the laid off employees as possible in other roles.

In fact, it seems that staff impacted by this decision will be given the chance to relocate at one of the two other casinos owned by the company, Crown Melbourne or Crown Perth. “Our priority is to support our people through this process, and manage these changes with care and respect,” the spokesperson added.

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Temporary Reopening Also Considered

Despite the recent decision, it seems that the Australian casino operator is ready to reopen the Mahogany Room at Crown Sydney during peak periods for its business, such as the Chinese New Year. That is when Asian tourists come to Australia and gaming floors at Crown Sydney are expected to be very busy.

Crown Sydney had initially been planned as a VIP-only casino, but those plans had to be altered after the famous Bergin inquiry led to Crown Resorts being deemed unsuitable to hold a casino license in New South Wales.

Crown Resorts was able to open its Sydney casino in August 2022, more than 20 months after having opened its non-gaming facilities to the public, as it was granted a provisional license by the state regulator. The Crystal Room was the only gaming floor opened at first, but then the Mahogany Room opened as well and the casino had a total offering of 160 gaming tables and 70 electronic gaming tables, along with 12 exclusive private Sky Salons.

Source:

, smh.com.au, August 24, 2023.

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