Talk of a potential union of two of the world’s largest casino operators has ended just as swiftly as it began.

Earlier on Tuesday, Australia’s Crown Resorts and America’s Wynn Resorts each publicly confirmed that the parties were having preliminary discussions regarding a potential blockbuster deal. Wynn was the obvious aggressor in this abrupt hookup, which would have involved a 50/50 cash-and-shares takeover of Crown in a deal worth around US$7.1b.

And just like that, it was over. Wynn issued a statement later on Tuesday saying that thanks to the “premature disclosure of preliminary discussions,” the company had “terminated all discussions with Crown Resorts concerning any transaction.”

The Wall Street Journal quoted a source saying that Wynn’s board had been caught off guard and more than a little miffed by Crown’s people talking to the media about the deal. Wynn’s initial release confirming the talks indicated that the company didn’t intend to comment further “unless required by law.”