The scepter of the October 2016 arrest of 15 Crown resorts staffers in China continues to haunt Australian casino mogul James Packer even up until now.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has rejected the request of Crown resorts to put poker machines inside Sydney Bangaroo Crown casino’s VIP rooms, according ABC News 24.

Berejiklian affirmed the policy of then Premier Mike Baird, which permitted a VIP-only casino in the AUD2 billion (US$ 1.52 billion) Barangaroo apartment, hotel and entertainment complex to operate from November 2019.

Back then, Crown is confident with its so-called “restricted gaming facility” business model that relies on attracting wealthy high rollers, predominantly from China.