Mindil Beach Casino & Resort

Mindil Beach Casino & Resort
Location Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Address Gilruth Avenue, Mindil Beach
Opening date1983
No. of rooms117
Casino typeLand-based
OwnerDelaware North
Previous namesMindil Beach Casino
Diamond Beach Hotel and Casino
MGM Grand Darwin
SkyCity Darwin
Websitemindilbeachcasinoresort.com.au

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

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Don Casino (1979–83)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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

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  1. ^ "Don Hotel Casino, Cavenagh Street, Darwin". Northern Territory Government. hdl:10070/1028. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Skycity Confirms MGM Grand Darwin Acquisition". 11 February 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ a b "Govt cashes its chips in casino at Darwin". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1987.
  5. ^ Bivens, Terry (4 October 1984). "Greate Bay venturing down under". Philadelphia Inquirer.  – via NewsBank (subscription required)
  6. ^ "Pratt Hotel Corp. sells hotel interests for $1 million". Dow Jones News Service. 20 October 1986.  – via Factiva (subscription required)
  7. ^ "Gambling concern acquires Australian casino, hotel". Wall Street Journal. 8 September 1995.  – via Factiva (subscription required)
  8. ^ "Skycity Darwin Joins Skycity Entertainment Group". 23 July 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  9. ^ "Darwin's SkyCity Casino sold to America's Delaware North". 8 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Delaware North completes acquisition of Darwin casino" (Press release). Delaware North. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Blast from the past: Darwin Skycity Casino's new name revealed". 27 March 2019.
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12°26′52″S 130°49′50″E / 12.447808°S 130.830667°E / -12.447808; 130.830667