A run-down area of Brisbane, Australia could be on the receiving end of government plans for regeneration thanks to new casino and 5-star hotel complex proposals. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has agreed to consider plans to build a Brisbane’s second casino on the site of the Executive Building and Public Works Buildings and is already in talks with Crown Chairman and Echo shareholder, James Packer, regarding the project. Having previously had plans for a 36-storey riverside casino building knocked back by the government, Echo Entertainment Group are current favourites to undertake the project which could prove to be Brisbane’s
version of Melbourne’s Crown Limited Casino Complex.
According to sources, Packer is in the process of selling his majority stakes in Crown to enable him to buy more stakes in Echo, suggesting the future could be red and black for gambling enthusiasts in Brisbane. The proposed complex comes in an attempt to create an influx of new jobs and to increase tourism in a struggling area thus giving a new lease of life to the local economy and on a broader scale, creating a means of increasing contributions to the Australian economy.
The Australian Government is not the first to recognise the potential of the gambling industry when it comes to creating jobs and injecting a new means of wealth into the economy; Madrid and Barcelona found themselves in a high profiled bidding war over a new Las Vegas Sands Resort which saw Madrid prevailing. Worldwide casinos have provided a solution to suffering economies and in
recent years various regions renowned for their association with gambling and casinos have experienced their highest revenues to date.
This success has also expanded from land-based casinos to the online variety with websites such as Lucky Nugget – available in www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/ – attracting gambling enthusiasts at an impressive rate. Whatever the platform, casinos have a proven record of providing an effective source of revenue and a second casino in Brisbane will hopefully pay tribute to this.