Michael Clarke, the Ambassador

Australia

Cricket365
December 5, 2013

Australian billionaire and casino pioneer, James Packer, has unveiled plans to build a $400m casino in Sri Lanka and has shrewdly recruited Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke as part of the publicity drive.

Sri Lanka is still relatively undeveloped in terms of luxury resorts and hotels, and Packer has seen an opportunity to grasp onto the growing resources of the emerging Chinese and Indian middle classes. Indian tourists in particular may target Sri Lanka due to proximity and the gambling restrictions placed on the Indian mainland.

The number of Indians making their first flight is growing exponentially and with Sri Lanka being just a short flight away, there does seem to be opportunities, whether it's for the casino industry or the tourism industry in general. Wealthy Europeans and other tourists are also keen to explore Sri Lanka, but may often be confronted with a lack of suitable accommodation opportunities.

With so much of the world's population now indulging on popular online casinos at sites like <a href='http://www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/' target='_blank' class='instorylink'><b>LuckyNuggetCasino.com/au</b></a>, it appears the casino industry itself still has a thirst to expand – especially in terms of emerging tourist destinations.

Although, the casino will not begin building work until at least 2015-2016 so online casinos are a way in which people can create excitement while they wait.

The best thing about these online casinos is that they are beginner friendly and will allow you to develop and even master your skills in time for the casino to open. You can still play and save for a trip to Sri Lanka as online casinos let you place the amount you want to spend into your online account and only allow you to play with that until you top it up. Who knows, you may even hit the jackpot and win enough money to get there without saving!

Michael Clarke is a natural ambassador for the project, and he is now following in the footsteps of former English cricketer Tony Greig – the man who helped to found World Series Cricket. Greig was much loved on the island because of the locals' affinity with cricket.

Sri Lanka won the Cricket World Cup in 1996, and they've won the Asia Cup four times. Names like the leading run scorer Mahela Jayawardene are built into the country's folklore and any attempts to promote an idea will be best served by getting the right cricketers on board in what is a highly public pitch.

Packer has had huge success in his Crown career, having added $3bn to his personal wealth since the summer of last year. This recent success has, in some part, been built on the back of recognising opportunities in the emerging island of Macau and their now thriving casino industry.

The Chinese middle classes contribute a fortune to Macau's local economy and Packer will suggest that his new development in Sri Lanka will do the same.

Packer has also pointed to the success of Singapore at achieving tourist targets due to the contribution of the casino industry and its accompanying luxury resorts. The Sri Lanka development would be based on the Beira Lake at the heart of Colombo, and it'll consist of 450 luxury rooms.