Australia | SkyCity eyes Adelaide casino expansion to lure more high rollers

SkyCity Entertainment Group Ltd. needs to complete development of the Adelaide casino site to attract a bigger share of the Asian high-roller market, Chief Executive Officer Nigel Morrison said.
SkyCity increased turnover from international business by 43 percent to NZ$9.3 billion (USD6 billion) in the year ended June 30, it said yesterday. Spending by high rollers at its flagship New Zealand casino in Auckland rose 39 percent to NZ$6 billion, while Adelaide, in South Australia, attracted a quarter of that.
“In Adelaide, we don’t have a hotel, we’ve only just got a couple of good restaurants there now,” Morrison said in an interview. “We definitely need a hotel and a more integrated facility in Adelaide to make that a more successful international business destination.”
SkyCity has a A$350 million ($250 million) project on the drawing board to expand its Adelaide site, including VIP gaming rooms, luxury hotel and fine-dining restaurants that well-heeled gamblers demand. It has made those investments at Auckland and its other sites, and increased efforts to compete for the high- roller business which can choose from Macau, Singapore, Sydney and many other cities.
“We have taken on more people in Southeast Asia marketing that business, promoting our properties and bringing those players to Auckland and Darwin and Queenstown,” said Morrison. “The pie is getting bigger. There’s still good upside in that business.”
Full-year net income rose 31 percent to NZ$128.7 million, SkyCity said today. Operating earnings in Auckland jumped 14 percent, but fell 19 percent in Adelaide. Bloomberg