Mindil Beach Casino & Resort
| Mindil Beach Casino & Resort | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Address | Gilruth Avenue, Mindil Beach |
| Opening date | 1983 |
| No. of rooms | 117 |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | Delaware North |
| Previous names | Mindil Beach Casino Diamond Beach Hotel and Casino MGM Grand Darwin SkyCity Darwin |
| Website | mindilbeachcasinoresort |
Mindil Beach Casino & Resort is a casino in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, owned and operated by Delaware North. It is the only casino in Darwin.
History[edit]
Don Casino (1979–83)[edit]
The first casino in Darwin, and the second in Australia, operated at the Don Hotel, Cavenagh Street, and was granted a licence as the "Don Casino" in 1979.[1]
Mindil Beach Casino (1983–85)[edit]
The licence was in 1983 transferred to the Mindil Beach Casino.[2][3] In 1984, the Territory government forcibly acquired it, along with the Alice Springs Casino, from Federal Hotels for $50 million.[4] A joint venture between Greate Bay Casino Corp. (owner of the Sands Atlantic City) and Aspinall Holdings (a British casino operator) was set up to operate the two casinos.[5]
Diamond Beach Hotel and Casino (1985–95)[edit]
The Mindil Beach Casino was renamed as the Diamond Beach Hotel and Casino. Aspinall bought out Greate Bay's interest for US$1 million in 1986,[6] and then acquired the territorial government's 17 percent interest for $5 million in 1987.[4]
MGM Grand Darwin (1995–2004)[edit]
In 1995, MGM Grand acquired the property for US$75 million, including US$13 million of assumed debt.[7] It was renamed as the MGM Grand Darwin.
SkyCity Darwin (2004–2019)[edit]
The SkyCity Entertainment Group purchased the hotel in 2004 for $195 million and took ownership on 23 July 2004.[8]
Mindil Beach Casino & Resort (2019–present)[edit]
Skycity sold the hotel to American company Delaware North in April 2019 for $188 million.[9][10] Delaware North changed the property's name to Mindil Beach Casino & Resort to reflect one of its original names and its modern resort facilities.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "Don Hotel Casino, Cavenagh Street, Darwin". Northern Territory Government. hdl:10070/1028. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Skycity Confirms MGM Grand Darwin Acquisition". 11 February 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
- ^ "Darwin casino celebrates 25th anniversary on Mindil Beach" (Press release). Skycity. 18 April 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Govt cashes its chips in casino at Darwin". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1987.
- ^ Bivens, Terry (4 October 1984). "Greate Bay venturing down under". Philadelphia Inquirer. – via NewsBank (subscription required)
- ^ "Pratt Hotel Corp. sells hotel interests for $1 million". Dow Jones News Service. 20 October 1986. – via Factiva (subscription required)
- ^ "Gambling concern acquires Australian casino, hotel". Wall Street Journal. 8 September 1995. – via Factiva (subscription required)
- ^ "Skycity Darwin Joins Skycity Entertainment Group". 23 July 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
- ^ "Darwin's SkyCity Casino sold to America's Delaware North". 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Delaware North completes acquisition of Darwin casino" (Press release). Delaware North. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Blast from the past: Darwin Skycity Casino's new name revealed". 27 March 2019.