Mindil Beach Casino & Resort

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.

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.com.au

History

Don Casino (1979–83)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

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. "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.

External links

• Official website

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