Inside Asian Gaming

september 2016 inside asian gaming 21 James Packer DEPUTY CHAIRMAN Melco Crown Entertainment Power 2,136 last 8 score year Claims to fame Owns controlling stake in Crown Resorts Backs plan to separate Crown’s Australian assets from Macau, Las Vegas projects 9 In just over a year, James Packer has stepped down as Crown’s Chairman, resigned as a company director, backed a reorganization plan to separate Crown’s Australian assets from holdings in Macau and Las Vegas and last month sold down his stakes in Crown from 53% to 48.2% for AU$448 million. Additionally, as a consequence of Crown selling down its stake in Melco Crown from 34.3% to 27.5% (for US$801 million), Mr. Packer was demoted from co-Chairman with CEO Lawrence Ho to the newly created post of Deputy Chairman. That’s his only remaining gaming post in the region. But Mr Packer’s status goes well beyond titles. As the son of legendary publisher and punter Kerry Packer, he is Australian business royalty (the Crown sale reportedly helped Mr Packer pay for a settlement of their father’s estate with sister Gretel). Mr Packer raised his status by pivoting out of media to raise his bet on casinos, an instrumental move in building Crown into an AU$9 billion company atop the Australian casino business. Most recently, his force of will enabled Crown to break rival Star Entertainment’s monopoly in Sydney, Australia’s largest city. The AU$2 billion resort at Barangaroo on Sydney Harbor, featuring a 71 story tower and due to open in 2021, promises to reinforce Crown’s position as Australia’s leading casino operator. Mr Packer’s presence and presumed influence made Crown the favorite for the Brisbane Queen’s Wharf redevelopment, even though it was competing on Star’s home turf; Star’s win rated as a major upset. Crown’s early recognition of the potential impact of Asian markets helped fuel its growth. In Melco Crown, though, Mr Packer has played a secondary role. Asked last October at Studio City’s opening how he’s benefited the joint venture, Mr Packer replied, “I think I was helpful getting the sub-concession from Steve Wynn” in 2006, adding that Crown had provided financial stability during the global crisis of 2008-09. That’s all relatively ancient history. Where does Mr Packer go from here? When he quit the Crown board, he declared he remains “passionate” about Crown, aiming to focus on the Barangaroo project, Crown’s online platforms and its 73% owned Alon on the Las Vegas Strip. Mr Packer is co-Chairman of the US$2 billion project on the site of the former Frontier hotel, seeking to reverse his record of Sin City failures. Two years after its announcement, Alon is still in search of funding, with Crown believed to be keen to reduce its stake. Consolidated Press Holdings, the private vehicle that holds Mr Packer’s Crown shares, stated in announcing the sale in August, “Consolidated Press remains deeply committed to Crown Resorts and is excited about the future of the company” with Mr Packer’s chosen leadership in place. Using these conflicting signs to plot Mr Packer’s path may prove pointless. After all, he’s 48-years-old, living in Los Angeles and by Forbes’ count worth more than US$4 billion. He is also a Hollywood producer via RatPac Entertainment – which for Studio City’s opening created short film The Audition starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and director Martin Scorsese for an estimated US$70 million – not to mention the fact that he is engaged to Mariah Carey. In Asian gaming and just about anything else he surveys, James Packer’s next move will be whatever he wants it to be. Asian Gaming POWER 50 2 0 1 6