The Crown Limited (ASX: CWN) share price has fallen today in response to what has happened to Crown Perth.
Crown is one of the largest casino operators on the ASX. It has fully complete casinos in Melbourne and Perth. It’s also looking to open a new casino in Sydney.
New operating conditions
Crown explained that following a statement issued by the Western Australian Government in relation to the 5-day lockdown of the Perth metropolitan area, with effect from the evening of Sunday, 31 January 2021 until the evening of Friday, 5 February 2021, most operations have been ceased at the Crown Perth entertainment complex.
Gaming activities have been stopped. Food and beverage, banqueting and conference facilities other than the provision of takeaway meals or meal delivery services (where determined).
However, hotel accommodation will continue to be provided in a reduced capacity.
Crown Perth said that it will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities in Western Australia and will respond to measures taken by the Western Australian Government in relation to COVID-19.
What happened in Perth?
Perth has been sent into a lockdown after a Perth hotel security guard tested positive for COVID-19. It’s worrying because he may have been infectious since 26 January 2021 and visited numerous locations such as supermarkets, a shopping centre, a university campus, service stations, pharmacies and so on.
Are Crown shares a good investment today?
The casino business is going through a difficult time at the moment. Crown Melbourne has had a tough time during FY21 with the Victorian lockdowns and restrictions. Now Crown Perth is being affected too.
Australia’s borders are currently shut to those VIP guests that used to visit Crown’s casinos and hotels, which is hurting earnings. Who knows when the borders will be open freely again? I don’t think it will happen during FY21. It may not even happen in the 2021 calendar year. There’s also the problem with Crown Sydney facing a lot of scrutiny at the moment.
Crown isn’t an ideal investment in my opinion. It seems like there’s going to be slow growth (if any) over the next couple of years.
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