Crown Resorts Limited completes sale of Alon Las Vegas site

According to a report from The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, Melbourne-based Crown Resorts Limited announced the disposal via its Alon Las Vegas Resort LLC subordinate on Monday before revealing that it expects its share of the deal’s proceeds after minority interests to come in at around $264 million.

Crown Resorts Limited reportedly purchased the Las Vegas Strip parcel, which sits opposite the luxury Wynn Las Vegas and just north of the Fashion Show Mall, in 2014 with plans to open the Alon Las Vegas venue later this year complete with a 50,000 sq ft casino offering just over 1,100 table and electronic gaming seats. The 1,100-room property was additionally set to feature an 80,000 sq ft pool area, a 65,000 sq ft ballroom, a 56,000 sq ft nightclub and more than 160,000 square feet of retail space.

However, the newspaper reported that the arrests by Chinese authorities of 18 Crown Resorts Limited employees in October of 2016 on charges that they had illegally promoted gambling led the Sydney-listed firm to abandon plans to become a global casino player and initiate a $567 million cost-cutting program. This retreat eventually saw it dispose of its remaining stake in Macau casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited and scrap its Las Vegas expansion.

“We didn’t succeed in a global strategy,” billionaire businessman James Packer, who is the largest shareholder in Crown Resorts Limited with around a 48% stake, reportedly told investors at the firm’s most recent annual general meeting in October.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Crown Resorts Limited’s recent cost-cutting moreover saw it dispose of the entirety of its shareholding in American casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corporation in December for more than $56 million while it earned approximately $121 million soon after by offloading its 62% stake in local digital bookmaker CrownBet.