The Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, located across 510,000 square metres (the equivalent of two city blocks) in the heart of Melbourne, Victoria, is the biggest casino in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world. Built at a cost of $2 billion and opened to the public on May 8, 1997, the complex rakes in approximately $1.5 million in profit each day – that equates to $62,500 per hour, roughly $1,042 a minute, and $17.35 every second.
The complex itself is Australia’s leading tourist attraction, and sits within the top 20 for the most popular attractions around the world. It contributes approximately three billion dollars in total casino taxes. Crown owns over 1600 rooms and villas across three different hotels; the Crown Metropol being the largest in terms of number of rooms with 658.
Suffice to say, Crown is quite a profitable company and has done wonders for Australian tourism, entertainment and culture, with more than 19 million people a year visiting the complex which currently holds a license extending until the end of 2033.
The Gaming Floor
Crown Casino has over 500 table games and 2,500+ pokie machines (including slots and video poker). Slot machine betting limits start as low as one cent, with some VIP machines allowing bets of up to $5-$10 per spin. The major casino table games on offer include roulette, blackjack, craps, poker, pai gow, baccarat, casino war and sic bo, with other smaller gaming activities including the electronic version of roulette (Rapid Roulette), the big-wheel, tia to, and the electronic Vegas Star Roulette and Rapid Baccarat.
If you are a regular visitor of Crown Casino and want maximum bang for your buck, consider signing up for Crown Rewards, a loyalty points system which lets members trade points for experiences and other redeemable goodies. By signing up for a Crown Signature Club Card and using it while playing pokies or table games at the casino, or at Crown Melbourne bars, restaurants, spas and hotels, you can rack up points easily to use later for prizes – or even to pay for future visits to the casino or eateries.
Can be made, this is known as the turnover requirement Crown Casino Signature Club Levelsor wagering requirement. If a bonus of £100 has a turnover requirement of 40x you must stake a total of £4,000 in the Crown Casino Signature Club Levelscasino before a withdrawal Crown Casino Signature Club Levels. Can be made, this is known as the turnover requirement Crown Casino Signature Club Levelsor wagering requirement. If a bonus of £100 has a turnover requirement of 40x you must stake a total of £4,000 in the Crown Casino Signature Club Levelscasino before a withdrawal Crown Casino Signature Club Levels. The Crystal Club lounge offers the perfect setting for business and entertainment. Crown Towers is undoubtedly Australia's premier hotel property offering the most extensive range of facilities including the finest signature restaurants, designer fashion brands, cinemas, nightclubs and bars of the Crown Casino.
If you are also a CrownBet.com.au member, CrownBet Rewards is of extra benefit to you. Just link your Crown Signature Club Card to your CrownBet punting account and all betting activity on the site grants you points. For racing stakes, every $2 gets you one Crown Reward/CrownBet Reward point, or $1 if it is on the fixed markets or exotics. For sports stakes, every $5 wagered gets you one point. If you’re a multi kind of guy, you get one point for every $1 you wager. All points are credited within minutes, and every 100 CrownBet Rewards points is worth $1.
Complete the most important day of your life with an unforgettable wedding night stay at Crown Towers - Melbourne's most luxurious and romantic hotel and wedding venue. Our Wedded Bliss. package offers overnight accommodation for the newlyweds at Crown Towers Melbourne as well as exclusive access to Crystal Club, a late checkout of 2pm, valet. History of Melbourne’s Crown Casino. Melbourne’s Crown Casino complex first opened its doors in 1997, a few years after running from a temporary location further down the north banks of the Yarra River – with an opening night made infamous by Aussie actress Rachel Griffiths when she ran through the complex topless.
Remember: CrownBet loyalty rewards points can expire after six months if your account is inactive or you haven’t played at Crown Melbourne for a while, so make sure to maintain your account if you want to have a big payout with your points someday!
Crown Casino Melbourne Signature Club Membership
Roulette at Melbourne’s Crown Casino
Both single-zero (European) roulette and double-zero (American) roulette are offered at the casino – lower stake tables use the American design (ranging from a $1 betting minimum to a $5), while higher stake table use the European design ($5 and up). Crown Casino added double zero to its low-bet roulette tables back in 2008. We recommend playing traditional European roulette in order to take advantage of the significantly lower house edge. There are close to 100 roulette wheels/tables within the casino, and each roulette station has table chips (different from traditional Crown chips discussed below) of different colours, with a unique number for that specific table – chips which can only be used at their respective tables.
Rapid Roulette allows players to play the game at their own electronic terminal in front of either a live croupier who spins the ball, or in front of an on-screen roulette wheel operated by a random number generator (RNG). Players who play Rapid Roulette have the chance to win a jackpot between $100 and $1000. Each terminal is automatically updated with the result of the spin, winnings are paid instantly and loses are taken. A timer appears on screen to let you know how long you have in between spin to place your bets.
Blackjack at Crown
Crown offers three distinct version of the game of 21: original Crown Blackjack, Blackjack Plus and pontoon. Blackjack Plus, one of the most skewed casino games in favour of the house, was introduced in 2012 and holds the rule that if the dealer draws to 22, he/she does not lose and no player is paid out – instead, the result is a ‘stand off’ and all bets placed are neither lost nor won. While this new variant of the classic blackjack game continues to be met with heavy criticism, it was approved by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation. We suggest avoiding this game like the plague.
The Crown Chips
Crown casino chips are designed so each chip has a colour which represents an exact amount of money. The standard real money playing chips’ denominations are as follows:
- White chips – valued at $1
- Yellow chips – valued at $2.50
- Red chips – valued at $5
- Green chips – valued at $25
- Black chips – valued at $100
- Lavender chips – valued at $500
- Shiny ocean blue chips – valued at $1,000
Note: Crown also has other chips such as tournament chips and free play chips which hold no cash value.
The Three Hotels
The Crown complex owns three world-class and prestigious hotels – the Crown Towers, the Crown Metropol and the Crown Promenade – as well as two luxurious day spas (Isika Day Spa and Crown Spa).
- The Crown Towers: 481 rooms & villas over 38 floors.
- 658 rooms across 28 floors.
- 465 room hotel on 23 floors.
For more information about the hotels, visit the hotel section of Crown’s official website.
The Palladium
The Palladium is the largest entertainment ballroom within the complex, with a seating capacity of 1,500. It hosts some of Australia’s premier functions including the AFL’s Brownlow Medal Count and the annual TV Week Logie Awards.
Crown Casino is spending more than $200 million upgrading its VIP section of its Melbourne casino / AFPSource:AFP
CASINO operator Crown will spend $212 million upgrading facilities for high-rolling gamblers at Melbourne's Crown casino, including $30 million on an extra corporate jet to fly them in to ultimate luxury.
The new long-range, custom-fitted Gulf Stream jet, which sleeps nine people, will boost the number of Crown's VIP corporate jets to three.
The upgrade will include a new, ultra-exclusive, ultra-plush gaming club on level 39 of the Crown Towers hotel, which Crown said would be 'the best gaming room in the world'.
Crown said the level 39 club, which will replace the presidential suite on that level, will be of an even higher standard than Crown's current premium gaming area, the Mahogany Room.
The level 39 gaming club will feature 360-degree views of Melbourne, 24-hour catering from Crown's five-star restaurants and 'a world of tailored luxury'.
Individual guests will be able to gamble at their own table in private salons that also include dining facilities, massage rooms, relaxation rooms and entertainment facilities.
The level 39 club will have 10 new gaming tables.
The Mahogany Room will be expanded by almost 50 per cent, with a new facade overlooking the Yarra River, a new private gaming salon, a five-star restaurant and a new bar and lounge area.
The Mahogany Room will get 16 new tables, and its expansion will be the major component of the VIP upgrade.
The upgrade also includes the refurbishment of all 32 villas in Crown Towers.
The best of the villas will include four bedrooms, a commercial kitchen, a bar and entertainment area, a gym, massage room, a steam room, and be fitted out with 'world-class fine art'.
The upgrade is expected to be completed in the first half of 2012.
Crown said the upgrade and expansion of the VIP facilities had been made possible by the state government's extension in 2009 of the number of gaming tables permitted under Crown Melbourne's licence by 150, in return for a higher tax on electronic gaming machines.
The increase lifted the number of gaming tables allowed at Crown to 500 tables, but Crown does not expect to fully utilise all of the additional tables permitted for a number of years to come.
Crown Melbourne's chief executive, David Courtney, said the upgrade was necessary to enable Crown to remain competitive with other casinos in attracting big gamblers from Asia.
'There's fantastic properties in Las Vegas and Macau, and to open this year, two $5 billion mega-resorts in Singapore,' he told reporters.
'To protect our existing business and to position us for growth, Crown will embark upon a $212 million upgrade of its premium facilities.'
Mr Courtney said the expectations of VIP customers was increasing substantially, and top-end VIP gamblers demanded luxury jet travel.
'So we do need to satisfy the demand of those customers to acquire a third Gulf Stream jet,' he said.
Crown Casino Melbourne Signature Club Resort
Mr Courtney said international segment of Crown's business was very important to Crown.
'Last year it generated over $400 million of revenue. That accounted for about 30 per cent of our total revenue,' he said.
'Over the last 18 months, we've grown our international business by over 50 per cent and that's during the time of the global financial crisis.'
Mr Courtney said the international business alone delivered more than $50 million in additional gaming taxes to the state government.
Mr Courtney would not reveal how much the upgrade was expected to generate in terms of extra VIP gaming turnover at the casino.
Nor would he reveal how many VIP gamblers visited Crown, or much they spent.
He also declined to reveal how many tables were currently devoted to VIP gamblers.
Crown is already engaged in a refurbishment of the main gaming floor at Crown and is near completion of the construction of a third hotel, Crown Metropol.
Crown shares were 24 cents lower at $8.15 at 1433 AEDT on Thursday.
Originally published asCrown to spend $212m on VIP upgrade