Crown Resorts, a well-known casino, has faced challenging times and made the decision to reduce its operating hours due to a decrease in foot traffic. As a result, almost 200 employees were laid off following the closure of one of the casino’s gaming floors.
The company announced that due to the decline in traffic, they would no longer be open 24/7, resulting in 180 employees being laid off. The new working hours for the casino are 2 am to 10 am from Monday to Thursday, and from 10 am to 2 am on Fridays. On weekends, the casino will operate from 2 pm to 4 am on Saturdays and from 2 am on Sundays.
The decline in revenue for the Crown’s Barangaroo casino can be attributed to changing regulations, such as the New South Wales anti-money laundering failings and tax regulations. The impact of these changes was also felt by Star Entertainment.
Mark McWhinnie, Chief of Crown Sydney, expressed the company’s commitment to support the impacted team members in finding their next steps, including redeploying them to other company casinos in Perth and Melbourne.
Crown Sydney is a VIP-only facility with a minimum bet of $20 and has two different gaming floors. While the mahogany floor with 30 private saloons is now closed, the crystal floor with 160 tables and 66 electronic tables remains open.
Despite the difficulties faced, the company has shown signs of improvement. After significant losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other financial penalties and regulatory failures, the company reported a reduced loss of $199 million in the previous year.
In 2013, Crown Resorts agreed to pay $1 billion in license fees and taxes related to gaming during the first 15 years of the casino. The company is now in negotiations to change the terms of the contract due to the changing economic and regulatory climate.
The company faced challenges when it was attacked by money launderers and infiltrated by international criminal syndicates, resulting in the loss of casino licenses in three states, including Barangaroo. Although the company received a conditional license for Barangaroo in 2022, it is only valid until the end of April next year.
The initial concept for Crown Sydney, conceived by James Packer, was to attract Chinese high rollers. However, the company shifted its focus to luxury hotels and restaurants.