Cannery Casino Resorts sold

Cannery Casino Resorts is being sold for nearly $1.8 billion, including acquisition costs, to a gaming company controlled by Australian billionaire James Packer, Crown Ltd. announced late Tuesday.

Melbourne, Australia-based Crown Ltd. will acquire 100 percent of the company in a transaction that is expected to take a year to 18 months to clear regulatory hurdles in Nevada and Pennsylvania, the company said.

"It's apparent gaming assets remain extremely valuable," said Brian Gordon, principal at Applied Analysis. "This provides Packer's organization with instant access to the domestic gaming market and Las Vegas. Certainly, the financial strength of Packer will likely provide future opportunities for expansion and additional capital improvements."

Neither party was available for comment before press time.

The acquisition includes the Cannery in North Las Vegas and the $250 million Eastside Cannery, which is being built to replace the Nevada Palace on Boulder Highway.

The company also manages the Rampart Casino in the JW Marriott in Summerlin.

Cannery Casino Resorts also owns a temporary casino next to the Meadows Racetrack outside Pittsburgh. The company is building a $155 million permanent facility at the racetrack.

The Las Vegas-based gaming company is 58 percent owned by Millennium Gaming, with a subsidiary of investment management corporation Oaktree Capital Management owning the remaining 42 percent.

Millennium is co-owned by casino veterans Bill Paulos and William Wortman.

This is Packer's third gaming-related investment in Las Vegas this year.

In April, Las Vegas-based Fontainebleau Resorts announced that Publishing and Broadcasting, which Packer controls, would invest $250 million to acquire a 19.6 percent stake in the company.

The $2.8 billion Fontainebleau mixed-use project is under construction on the north Strip and is scheduled for completion in 2009.

That investment was followed by a $22.5 million cash payment in May for a 37.5 percent stake in LVTI, the holding company for the Crown Las Vegas project proposed for the Wet 'n Wild site.

Contact reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3893