Ciaran Carruthers, a veteran of Macau casinos, will leave before his current role as chief executive of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd. ends by the end of the year.
David Tsai, president and chief operating officer of Crown Resorts, will serve as acting chief executive from Sept. 1 until a permanent replacement is found.
The development was confirmed to GGRAsia by a company statement emailed at our request following Monday’s media coverage, including the Australian Financial Review.
“Mr. Carothers operated the business through a period of significant change and improvement, and Crown Melbourne and Sydney were deemed appropriate by their respective state regulators while conducting a Perth transition programme,” the statement said
“Following these important achievements, Mr. Carruthers has decided that now is the right time to start.”
John Borgetti, president of Crown Resorts, noted: “It was a privilege to work with Ciaran at a critical time of change and correction, which kept Crown a licence to operate in both Victoria and New South Wales. A similar effort was made for the property in Perth, Western Australia.”
Mr Carothers said: “It has been my privilege to lead a dedicated and talented team at Crown Resorts, but I think now is the right time for two and a half years of intensive transformation to pursue other opportunities and interests.
“I’m very excited to hand over a stronger, more compliant, and transformed business to the next leader. There’s more work to be done, but I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished as a team.”
Mr. Carruthers was chief operating officer of Win Macao Real Estate of Win Macao Inc., a Macau casino operator, until September 2022, when he joined Crown Resorts as CEO.
Investment firm Blackstone completed its $6.15 billion acquisition of Crown Resorts in June 2022.
Prior to and since the acquisition, Crown Resorts’ business has been rocked by regulatory scrutiny. Some have elements in common with major Australian commercial rival The Star Entertainment Group Ltd regarding past links to Chinese junkets and alleged regulatory failures.
Crown Resorts operates casino properties in Melbourne, Victoria, Perth, West Australia, and Sydney, New South Wales. 안전 슬롯사이트
In March, Crown Resorts learned that after a long probationary period and a review by authorities, it would be allowed to maintain a license to operate Crown Melbourne properties in Victoria.
In April, regulators in New South Wales found Crown Resorts “fit” to retain its Crown Sydney casino licence after nearly three years of trying to improve its overall business practices.
Crown Perth is implementing its own relief plan, which is due to submit a report to Western Australian regulators by the end of January 2025, according to an April statement from Crown Resorts.