Vegas Casinos Cause Packer to Lose “A Bunch of Money”

In an interview published in Forbes Magazine, James Packer claims he has lost a great deal of the family fortune on his Las Vegas casinos.

According to recent gambling news, the Australian casino king admitted that he has “lost a bunch of money in America because of the financial crisis”. The damage is estimated at around $2.6 billion and it has served as a valuable business lesson for the heir of the Packer family fortune.

The casino investor says he’s learnt not to carry too much debt and claims that the company financials are “much more conservative” than in 2008.

A kingdom of casinos

With several profitable casinos in Australia and Macau, it doesn’t look like Packer’s fortune is threatened. His firm owns over 50% of Crown Resorts, a company worth $11 billion which operates casinos in Melbourne, Perth and London and is about to expand in Sydney and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The businessman struck gold with his gambling venues in Macau and managed to turn a $600 million investment into a kingdom currently estimated at $8 billion. With a wealth estimated at $6.5 billion, James Packer is now the second-richest person in Australia. He inherited $5 billion from his father Kerry Packer, in 2005.