Money on Packer to win casino battle

The winning design for James Packer's proposed Barangaroo casino. Source: Supplied

James Packer. Picture: Kym Smith Source: Supplied

IF you follow the so-called "smart money" then James Packer will today achieve what eluded his father - a Sydney casino licence.

Bookmakers are betting on Mr Packer's Crown Ltd winning its battle against Echo Entertainment's The Star when Premier Barry O'Farrell declares his hand this afternoon.

It would end an 19-year wait by the Packer family to enter the Sydney casino market after Kerry Packer missed out on being awarded Sydney's first licence to the Showboat-Leighton consortium in 1994.

A report by an independent panel led by former banking chief David Murray, which assessed the rival billion-dollar proposals by Crown and Echo, is expected to be considered by state cabinet today.

Panel head says only one will be approved

Mr Packer is proposing a $1.5 billion six-star hotel and casino resort at Barangaroo if the government grants Crown a licence when The Star's exclusive arrangements end in 2019.

In a bid to extend its monopoly, Echo has offered to spend $1.1 billion transforming its Pyrmont venue into an integrated report, featuring two new hotels and a pedestrian bridge across to Barangaroo.

Echo Entertainment tries to get Packer to go VIP-only

Business leaders have suggested the goverment should consider allowing both projects to go ahead, but Mr O'Farrell has said this would be "impossible".

Corporate bookmaker Sportsbet has tightened the odds on Crown winning to $1.30, while Echo was priced at $3 yesterday. After the release of Echo's plan late last month, Crown and Echo were both at $1.85.

The Star casino strikes back at James Packer in $1.1b revamp

The sharemarket was taking a more subdued view yesterday, with Crown closing 22c down to $11.95, while Echo was 1c down to $3.04.

Kimber Capital head of research Greg Fraser said he expected the Echo shareprice to fall if Crown got the nod.

Winning Barangaroo design from British architects Wilkinson Eyre

s"It's hard to know if a loss has already been factored in, but Echo still has to work hard to generate returns on the previous $870 million investment in The Star," he said.

If Crown enters the Sydney market, it could help dramatically expand the city's take of international VIP revenue in the years ahead, lifting The Star's take as well.

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