16 Sep 2014
Words Catie Langdon

12 In The Race for Casino Resort

Regions from Far North Queensland to the Gold Coast are in with a chance for a major tourism fillip now that 12 consortia have formally expressed interest in developing up to three new integrated resorts with casinos in the Sunshine State.

Following on from our recent article about Casinos in Australia, we are pleased to report six groups have put their hands up for the Queens Wharf development in Brisbane, while another six are competing for two opportunities in regional Queensland.

As expected, major Australian players Crown Resorts Limited, headed by James Packer, and Echo Entertainment Group, which operates the existing Brisbane and Gold Coast casinos, have both antied up in Brisbane.

Also interested in the capital city opportunity is Lend Lease, which is currently developing Sydney’s new convention and exhibition centre at Darling Harbour, and Skycity Entertainment, the New Zealand-based owner of our Adelaide and Darwin casinos.

The biggest player in the Brisbane game is the Chinese group Greenland, a giant of the gambling industry that develops casinos and resorts around the world. Last year Greenland claimed global revenues of about $55 billion. That really ups the ante!

As we reported, it is the prospect of enticing some really exciting and ambitious resort developments, (think Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands) that will make this whole exercise really worthwhile for our tourism industry.

So it’s encouraging to see significant international players lodging regional proposals. As foreshadowed, Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung’s $4.2 billion Aquis development at Yorkeys Knob, north of Cairns, will be one contender.

We were also right to top ASF consortium, with its bid to develop a cruise ship terminal on the Broadwater at the Gold Coast, and China-Australia Entrepreneurs Consortium, which is betting on Airlie Beach, would be on the list.

Other interesting proposals would see the Whitsundays’ once-luxurious Laguna Quays reborn, and raise the stakes Great Keppel Island.

Laguna, developed by the Japanese in the early 1990s and home to the once world-ranked Turtle Point golf course, died a slow death after the GFC, finally closing in 2012. But last year, the Fullshare Group, which now also owns Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, took over, raising hopes that Laguna would once again have a bright future. News of Fullshare’s bid for the site 26 kms south of Proserpine will be welcome in the region.

A third hope for central Queensland is the EOI from GKI Resort, which is already moving ahead with a $2 billion makeover of the Great Keppel Island destination. At the same time, owner Terry Agnew of Tower Holdings has also listed the resort for sale. No doubt a casino licence would be a significant sweetener for prospective buyers.

The big surprise was an EOI from Eastern Success Group Pty Ltd for site at Nerang, a western Gold Coast suburb quite some distance from the city’s famed beaches.

Eastern Success is part of Chinese-owned Ridong Australia, which is also behind the approved but as yet unstarted $1 billion Jewel apartment development in Surfers Paradise. While the 45-hectare riverside site at Nerang seems an unlikely location for a major integrated resort, some say it is just the spot for an ambitious, game-changing development.