Crown Casino won't invest in Philippines

"The recent and ongoing events in world credit markets have made it very difficult for gaming operators to develop commercially viable casino entertainment projects where those projects require significant external debt funding," he said.

Crown had considered partnering with Bloombury Investments Ltd in the casino project. "After further review, Crown has determined not to participate in Bloombury’s proposal or any other proposal to develop an integrated casino-entertainment complex in Manila Bay," Craigie said.

The Philippines project is worth about us$ 1.5 billion and Bloombury is on of four firms seeking new casino licenses in the country. Crown, in its previously incarnation as part of the Packer family’s Publishing and Broadcasting group, had been in talks about a potential investment since last year.

Crown earlier this month denied reports it was interested in acquiring United States casino operator Ameristar Casinos. The company said it had no discussions with Ameristar, which has eight casinos in the US. Crown shares closed up 33 cents to us$ 8.23 on Wednesday, in an overall stronger market.