Whats the number of times the letter r appears in:
Victoria
Crown to expand gaming floor and extend licence to 2050 after tax hike
- From: Herald Sun
- August 21, 2014
James Packer as he arrives at a dinner reception for visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Canberra. AFP PHOTO / Saeed Khan Source: AFP
CROWN casino’s licence will be extended to 2050 and more poker machines and tables added to its gaming floor to compensate for a multi-million dollar Napthine Government tax hike.
The lucrative arrangement will net the government $910 million, including an upfront payment of $250 million.
In addition to a licence extension until 2050, Crown will get 40 new gaming tables, 50 automated table game terminals and 128 poker machines.
Treasurer Michael O’Brien said casinos were becoming an increasingly competitive industry and the changes would help Melbourne’s only casino.
“This is a win-win outcome. It is good for jobs, good for tourism and good for investment,” he said.
The money gives the government an election-year jackpot to spend on transport, schools or hospitals.
The in-principle deal, which would end a marathon nine-month negotiation, will result in a green light for the casino to expand operations.
But the number of Victorian poker machine licences will remain the same because the gaming giant will only use suburban club and pub entitlements that have been handed back to the government.
MORE: Crown pursues high roller over multi-million dollar debt
The Herald Sun understands that Crown’s earlier demand for a 99-year licence — an extension that would have secured operations until 2092 — has been watered down.
Instead, the licence that was due to expire in 2033 would be extended to 2050.
In securing a new long-term deal, the government will reap hundreds of millions of dollars for a war-chest heading towards the November state poll.
A source familiar with the deal, which should be signed off as early as today, will be referred to as “a win for both camps”.
Secret backroom talks between Treasury and the casino began in December last year, after Treasurer Michael O’Brien surprised Crown chiefs by announcing a plan to jack up taxes on poker machines.
The tax grab was forecast to boost government coffers by $184 million over four years, and led to the ire and direct intervention of casino magnate James Packer.
Casino chiefs argued that it had an agreement in 2009 with the previous Labor government that there would be “no further amendments in casino taxes or levies until the end of 2022”.
In January, the Herald Sun revealed the gaming hub’s bosses were “apocalyptic” about the sudden and unexpected change to tax arrangements at the state’s largest single-site employer.
Possible compensation for the hike, discussed during negotiations, included a 99-year licence, a different tax rate for high roller rooms, more gaming machines and tables, and changes to some smoking rules.
In May, the government removed from the Budget its planned tax slug because it didn’t have an agreement.
At the time, Mr O’Brien said that he was confident a deal would be reached, however.
“Negotiations have been constructive and the Victorian Government and Crown are working to achieve an outcome that delivers real value for both parties,” he said in April.
Crown and Mr O’Brien’s office declined to comment.
matthew.johnston@news.com.auOriginally published as Crown deal to inject $910m into state coffers
Have your say
user
The total number of "r"s in that passage is 176.
assistant