Aquis wants to add poker
Profits are up—way up—at Canberra Casino, the only legal gaming hall in the Australian Capital Territory. The casino is part of Aquis Entertainment, owned by Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung. It announced last week that gaming revenues for this October were $2.4 million, a rise of 62 percent over the previous month. The profit of the gaming company has spiked 80.4 percent since October 2014.
Fung bought parent company Casinos Austria for $6 million in December 2014. He has announced plans to invest $330 million to redevelop the property, reported the International Business Times; the redevelopment would add a 12-suite six-star boutique hotel and a 100-room five-star hotel. The plan would also expand the National Convention Centre to 3,300 square meters (35,520 square feet).
But Aquis says it cannot move forward with the plan unless the ACT government allows it to add poker machines, which currently are permitted only in Canberra’s clubs.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr says he will back the request for poker at Canberra, saying the machines could generate $60 million in taxes per year.
