James Packers Crown Ltd has increased its commitment to Burswood Casino, announcing the purchase of the Holiday Inn for $79 million and the creation of three new bars and a cafe under a new $91 million redevelopment plan.
The expenditure is part of $281 million in acquisitions and redevelopments Crown announced to the ASX this morning.
Crown said Burswood had signed an agreement with the Holiday Inn's owner, the Intercontinental Hotel Group, to acquire the hotel building and associated assets and to dissolve the partnership under which the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn hotels are operated.
Burswood already owns the land on which the hotel is located.
Completion of the $79 million sale is expected in July.
At Burswood, Crown will spend $49 million building a pub-style restaurant, a western-style restaurant, a feature bar and a cafe around the main gaming floor.
Combined with the $73 million already committed to expanding gaming facilities, Crown's total spend on that redevelopment is $112 million
Also, $35 million will be spent on upgrades of general amenities at the casino and Burswood will also construct an additional Infinity Suite for VIP customers for $7 million.
The expenditure is in addition to the $350 million in upgrades over three years announced by Crown in July last year.
That investment entailed upgrades of all the resort's rooms and the pool area, the construction of chef Neil Perry's Rockpool Bar & Grill, a private gaming salon on the roof of the Intercontinental Resort, new Japanese and Italian restaurants and a new food court, and the purchase of a 40 metre yacht to entertain VIPs.
The casino operator also announced $132 million in upgrades and development at its Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne, including an increase in table games, a new bar and lounge and general amenities work.
Meanwhile, Crown also said it would buy out 50:50 partner Aspinall's from high-end London casino the Aspinall's Club for approximately $55 million.
Crown said the purchase would enable it to further integrate its London operations into its international VIP business.
