| Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex | |
|---|---|
| Address | Yarra Promenade, Southbank, Melbourne, Australia |
| Opening date | 1994 |
| Casino type | Land |
| Owner | Crown Limited |
| Website | www.crowncasino.com.au |
Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a large casino and entertainment precinct located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited.
Crown's current casino complex opened in 1997, after moving from its original location from 1994 on the north bank of the Yarra. It is one of the central features of the Southbank area in the central business district and the Crown Promenade fronts onto the waterfront as part of Southbank Promenade. Children under 18 are permitted into the entertainment section of complex, but not into the gaming area or areas serving alcohol. The entire complex has a space of 510,000 m² which is equivalent to 2 city blocks, making it the largest casino complex in the Southern Hemisphere[1][2][3][4] and one of the largest in the world.[4][5]
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Crown Casino opened in 1994 at the World Trade Centre on the north bank of the Yarra River, moving to the new complex at Southbank in 1997. Actress Rachel Griffiths infamously ran through the casino topless on its opening night. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except on Christmas Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day. It was originally founded, owned and run by Lloyd Williams until the Packer takeover by PBL in 1999. Crown Casino is the largest casino in the southern hemisphere and has a license for 350 table games and 2,500 poker machines.[6]
The regulator overseeing the Casino's activities, and to whom grievances can be addressed to is the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation. Amongst its rules, which are not published by Crown Casino, is the unknown requirement that "If a player does not want to play out any remaining credits on a gaming machine that amount to less than $1.00, the casino operator must not refuse to make a manual or ‘hand’ payment of the credits to the player". Its staff have been known to illegally compel a player to waste the balance of any credit which are not divisible by $1.
Amongst other games, Crown provides the 6 main casino games of Blackjack, Craps, Pai Gow, Poker, Baccarat and Roulette (American version) but it was also the first to introduce an electronic version of Roulette known as Rapid Roulette. Rapid Roulette is essentially the same as traditional roulette but rather than players placing bets on a layout, all gaming takes place on a personal electronic touch screen connected to a central roulette wheel. The purpose of this is to provide the player with easy access to the entire betting layout. Rapid Roulette has been in use for several years, and recently Rapid Bigwheel, Rapid Sic-bo and Rapid Baccarat have been developed.
As well as 3 Card Poker on the main gaming floor, Crown has also offers varieties of poker including Texas Hold'em. The Crown Poker Room encompasses a large separate space in the Crown basement.
Crown casino has 2,500 poker machines on the casino floor, with values of 1 cent, 2 cent, 4 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 Cent, 50 cent and 1 dollar available. There are also very few 5 dollar machines located in the VIP areas. Slot machines at Crown are made by Aristocrat, AGT, IGT, Konami and Stargames.
The regulator overseeing the Casino's activities, and to whom grievances can be addressed, is the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation. The VCGR regularly monitors the casino's operations to ensure Crown conforms to Victorian Gambling laws.[7] Crown has been repeatedly charged and fined for minor breaches of the Casino Control Act 1991.[8]
The Crown Entertainment Complex launched a complex-wide rewards program called "Signature Club" on October 1, 2009. Signature Club members earn points on every dollar spent at most outlets within the Crown complex (including bars, clubs, hotels, restaurants, gaming, shopping and spa). Points are redeemed for goods and services within the complex. The amount of points earned is used to determine Signature Club tier levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Black), with each tier rewarding members with different discounts, offers and entrance to varying VIP areas throughout the complex.[9]
The Crown Entertainment Complex incorporates several nightclubs, a Village Cinema complex and multiple restaurants, fast food outlets, food courts and shops. The complex also houses "Galactic Circus", an electronic games arcade, laser 'tag' game and bowling alley. Notable features of the casino include its entrance (commonly known as the 'Atrium', featuring stepped fountains and sound/light shows under the themes of the four seasons), and pyrotechnic towers running the length of the Casino promenade. The Casino is home to many luxury stores including:
Crown is home to 3 Hotel towers. Each targeting different demographics.
Crown Towers Crown's 5-star Luxury hotel is "Crown Towers" which is located within Crown Entertainment Complex. It houses 481 rooms & Villas over 38 floors.[10] Located on the banks of the Yarra River it overlooks the city centre, Kings Domain, Port Phillip and Docklands. 31 Villas offer guest unparralled opluence and grandeur exceeding any premium accommodaiton in the world. Crown Towers houses the largest villa in the Southern Hemisphere spanning an entire floor. Crown Towers also has the largest contingent of butlers in Australia
Crown Metropol It is Australia's largest hotel by number of rooms. This 5-star hotel houses 658 rooms across 28 floors. It also houses Australia's first residential Spa on level 27. Like Promenade, Metropol is connected with the Crown Entertainment Complex by a pedestrian overpass passing over Whiteman Street.
Crown Promenade Offering 465 rooms on 23 floors.[11] It is located on the block behind Crown Towers and is connected to the main complex by a pedestrian overpass across Whiteman Street. A lesiure and corporate hotel Crown Promenade also houses Australias only purpose built hotel conference facility the Crown Conference Centre.
Notable guests at the Crown Towers have included Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Rachel Griffiths, Kerry Packer,[12] Tiger Woods[13] and Neil Murray and many other high profile celebrities and politicians.
The Palladium at Crown is Melbourne's grandest ballroom, with a seating capacity of 1,500 it has played host to some of Australia's premier functions including the annual TV Week Logie Awards, Brownlow Medal, Allan Border Medal and the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix ball.
Water features appear both inside and outside the Crown casino complex. They include the Seasons of Fortune, Southern Porte Cochere, Revelry, Brigades and Celebration.
Water veneers the textured granite faces of six towers that are located on a promenade at the Crown Casino along the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia.
At night, spheres of fire issue at choreographed intervals from the tops of the towers. Nine feet in diameter, these pyrotechnics have become an iconic part of Melbourne's nightlife.
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