Crown hotel deal adds pokies in Perth

1 Aug 2012, 4:15 pm   -   Source: AAP
Casino operator Crown will spend $568 million on a new hotel at its Burswood complex in Perth. (AAP)

Casino operator Crown will spend $568 million on a new hotel at its Burswood complex in Perth. (AAP)

Casino operator Crown will be allowed to install extra poker machines at Burswood casino in a deal for a new luxury hotel at the Perth complex.

Casino operator Crown plans to spend $568 million building a new six-star hotel at its Burswood complex in Perth.

The James Packer-controlled company said the 500-room Crown Towers Hotel would be the city's largest, and would create 500 new jobs once completed, plus 700 construction jobs.

Construction of the hotel tower will begin next year, with completion expected in 2016.

The development will be built on a site owned by Burswood, plus land to be bought from the West Australian government for $60 million.

As part of the deal with the government, Crown will be allowed to add 500 poker machines and 130 gaming tables at the Burswood casino over the next five years.

Crown said Perth was in desperate need of additional luxury hotel and short term accommodation to satisfy the demands of business travellers and tourists.

The new hotel would put the city "firmly back on the map for leisure travellers seeking exclusive, resort-style experiences", Crown said in a statement.

WA Tourism Minister Kim Hames said Perth's occupancy levels, average room rates and revenue per available room were the highest in the nation, but only 223 net new rooms had been opened in the city since 2006.

WA Premier Colin Barnett said the new hotel would go a long way towards alleviating Perth's chronic room shortage, which had been hampering tourism.

It was expected to draw an additional 79,000 extra visitors to the state each year and generate an extra $60 million per annum in tourism expenditure in WA.

Dr Hames said the new hotel would particularly assist in catering to the emerging Chinese and other Asian markets.

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