Pursuits
Echo Unveils $1 Billion Sydney Casino Extension
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Echo Entertainment Group Ltd., licensed to run Sydney’s only casino until 2019, plans to spend more than A$1.1 billion ($1 billion) expanding the property to fend off a challenge from billionaire James Packer’s Crown Ltd.
The proposed extensions to Echo’s harborside Star casino include two new hotels and more than 50 bars and restaurants, the Brisbane-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Echo also proposes making a A$250 million payment to the New South Wales government to extend its exclusive casino licence, it said. This comes after Packer last month unveiled rival plans for a A$1 billion hotel-casino project at Barangaroo, a development site southwest of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.