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BILLIONAIRE high-rollers from Asia, flown in on luxury private jets, are already frequenting Queensland casinos as part of ASX-listed Echo Entertainment’s multi-million dollar plan to position its gaming properties as prime destination for international tourists.
Echo CEO Larry Mullin (pictured) says Treasury Casino in Brisbane and Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, along with other tourist facilities in Queensland, have to aggressively compete with luxury hotels and casinos in Asia.
“There are some amazing properties in South-East Asia that people there have become accustomed to. If we don’t have similar amenities to what they can get at home, we are going to be in a lot of trouble,’’ he says.
“[Echo] is in the midst of going offshore to attract as many high-end customers as we can to visit here. Some of them have already been playing in our properties in Queensland.’’
While some tourism bosses have criticised Echo’s strategy of using casinos to lure Asian visitors, Mullin makes no apologies for the company’s bold expansion plans. He says Echo plans to change the way Queenslanders view casinos.
In an exclusive interview in this month’s edition of Brisbane Business News, Mullin reveals why he believes the state’s fifth largest company is a takeover target; he outlines his plans to get more Queenslanders to visit casinos; and details how Echo has moved on after the Star City fiasco in Sydney.
Read the fascinating and frank interview only in Brisbane Business News – out now at a newsagent near you.
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