Crown Claims To Still Want US Casinos, Current Owners Are Not Sure

James Packer set out on a mission in the US to try and buy four casinos in the country. Now, after months of inquiries it appears the deal for the casinos may be dead and the current casino owners believe that is what Packer's company wants.

Crown Limited had agreed back in December of 2007 to buy the four casinos for a purchase price of $1.75 billion. In just over a year since that deal was struck, the economy in the US has completely fallen apart and the casinos are no longer worth what Crown agreed to pay.

Still, Crown Chief Executive Rowen Craige claims that the company is working to solve the current problems that are holding up the sale. In a nutshell, the deal breaker so far has been the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

In order to but the casinos Crown needs the Control Board to sign off on it. They have not yet done so because Gretel Packer, the sister of James Packer, has decided to withdraw from the licensing process.

While Crown is saying the right things about still wanting to buy the casinos, the current owners are not so sure. They have stated that they feel Crown is trying to renege on their deal from 2007 because of the economy.

Cannery Casinos is currently the owner of the facilities and they are crossing their fingers that the Crown deal eventually will gain regulatory approval. The Gaming Control Board has already reviewed Crown's casino dealing in Australia.

March 1, 2009
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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