Packer’s Colombo casino faces dilemma
Reports from Colombo indicate that James Packer’s proposed US$400 million casino in the Sri Lankan capital is under a cloud.
The Sunday Times in Sri Lanka reports that the central government has asked the consortium building the hotel and casino to move the proposed site of the development and change its design.
Leisure Lake Holdings, the joint venture of Crown and its local partner Rank Holdings, owned by casino businessman Ravi Wijeratne, had planned to locate their Crown Complex gaming joint on a car park in Colombo’s new designated gaming zone.
But the country’s Urban Development Authority recently issued a letter advising Leisure Lake that it needed to choose an alternate location for ‘aesthetic’ reasons.
Packer and his partners want to lure high spending Indians and Chinese gamblers to a 36-storey integrated resort which includes a 400-room hotel with meeting, convention and gaming facilities.
The government is believed to have asked for the number of floors to be reduced and for changes to the construction plan.
Ian Jarrett
Have your say Cancel reply
Subscribe/Login to Travel Mole Newsletter
Travel Mole Newsletter is a subscriber only travel trade news publication. If you are receiving this message, simply enter your email address to sign in or register if you are not. In order to display the B2B travel content that meets your business needs, we need to know who are and what are your business needs. ITR is free to our subscribers.

































France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt