Australian mogul James Packer won approval this week for a towering six-star hotel and casino complex on Sydney harbour aimed at Asian high-rollers, with work expected to begin shortly.  The New South Wales state government legislated for the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort to be sited on foreshore land previously earmarked in 2013 as public open space and awarded Crown Resorts a casino licence for their hotel and casino complex on Sydney harbour.

Australian mogul James Packer, majority shareholder of Crown Resorts, said the casino would help attract Asian high net worth travellers to Sydney, in particular from China, and create more than 1,000 jobs.  The new casino, which will sit at Barangaroo on the north western edge of Sydney's central business district has been awarded a 99-year gambling licence.

The Planning Assessment Commission, which last Tuesday awarded the casino licence to Crown Resorts, has also ordered a number of changes to increase public areas around the 71-storey projected building in the project with USS$1.5 billion investment.

Crown plans to build a structure housing a six-star, 350-room hotel, a restricted gaming facility, 66 residential apartments as well as shops and a carpark, and aims to market the property to Asian gamblers, who are keeping away from the under-performing Macau casinos market.