{"id":102995,"date":"2019-04-15T07:14:32","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T14:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=102995"},"modified":"2019-04-16T07:18:47","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T14:18:47","slug":"james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/","title":{"rendered":"James Packer\u2019s New $200 Million \u2018Giga-Yacht\u2019 Ready for Maiden Voyage — And It\u2019s Bigger than Steve Wynn\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

They say money can\u2019t buy happiness, and billionaire casino mogul James Packer\u2019s recent descent into the doldrums would seem to attest to that.<\/p>\n

\"James
Built by Italian shipbuilder Benetti, James Packer\u2019s $200 million yacht \u201cEJI\u201d is among the biggest private boats in the world and boasts a cinema, a large heated swimming pool, and over 3,000 feet of outdoor deck space. (Image: YachtHarbour)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tycoon resigned from the Crown Resorts board last year, citing \u201cmental health reasons,\u201d and is reported to be in LA recuperating from depression and anxiety and becoming ever more reclusive.<\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s hard to say whether the unveiling this week of his $200 million \u201cgiga-yacht\u201d — which has been four years in the making — will rouse Packer\u2019s spirits or become just another expensive thing he has to worry about.<\/p>\n

Reasons to Be Cheerful<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Are billionaires neurotic about the length of their yachts? At 354 feet, Packer\u2019s new vessel is described only as \u201cone of\u201d the biggest private boats in the world.<\/p>\n

But at least it\u2019s a good 50-feet longer than Steve Wynn\u2019s yacht<\/a>, whose former company, Wynn Resorts, launched a $7.1 billion bid<\/a> to acquire Crown Resorts last week, before withdrawing the offer because details of the bid were leaked prematurely to the press.<\/p>\n

Wynn\u2019s vessel, \u201cAquarius,\u201d is described, disappointingly, only as a \u201cmega-yacht,\u201d a notch down on a giga-yacht.<\/p>\n

\n

What is for sure is the new boat will fill a big yacht-shaped hole in Packer\u2019s life. Last year, he put his 180-foot yacht on the market for $65.7 million, reportedly because it was \u201ctoo small.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald<\/em> reports the construction of the new boat has been fraught with difficulties, delays, and cost blowouts, and reportedly cost Packer one of his best friends \u2013 his so-called \u201cMinister of Fun,\u201d Matthew Csidei, who was charged with overseeing the process. Apparently, they no longer speak.<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s not easy to build a giga-yacht. If it were, everyone would be doing it, including Steve Wynn.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re Going to Need a Bigger Boat<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This one features a cinema (standard for a giga-yacht), a large heated swimming pool,\u00a0a five-foot fire-pit \u201cfor toasting marshmallows,\u201d over 3,000 feet of outdoor deck space, and storage for up to eight jet skis.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also built for long distance. The 345,000-litre capacity tank means it can travel 6,500 nautical miles at 14 knots without the need to refuel.<\/p>\n

The yacht is apparently named EJI, the first initials of Packer’s children: Indigo, Jackson, and Emmanuelle. Built by Benetti in Livorno, Italy, EJI was officially launched in a ceremony hosted by the shipbuilder last week and is expected to be ready for Packer to clamber aboard in June.<\/p>\n

The interest in Crown Resorts from Wynn, and now also reportedly Genting and Hard Rock, suggests a sale is in the offing, which could allow Packer to escape the stressful, cutthroat world of business once and for all and sail off into the sunset with billions in his pocket, hopefully with a relieved smile on his face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They say money can\u2019t buy happiness, and billionaire casino mogul James Packer\u2019s recent descent into the doldrums would seem to attest to that. The tycoon resigned from the Crown Resorts board last year, citing \u201cmental health reasons,\u201d and is reported to be in LA recuperating from depression and anxiety and becoming ever more reclusive. So, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":103033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJames Packer\u2019s New $200 Million \u2018Giga-Yacht\u2019 Ready for Maiden Voyage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"James Packer\u2019s new yacht EJI is ready for its maiden voyage after four years and costs mushrooming to $200 million, according to reports.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Packer\u2019s New $200 Million \u2018Giga-Yacht\u2019 Ready for Maiden Voyage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James Packer\u2019s new yacht EJI is ready for its maiden voyage after four years and costs mushrooming to $200 million, according to reports.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-15T14:14:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-04-16T14:18:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/eji.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/\",\"name\":\"James Packer\u2019s New $200 Million \u2018Giga-Yacht\u2019 Ready for Maiden Voyage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/eji.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-15T14:14:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-16T14:18:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"James Packer\u2019s new yacht EJI is ready for its maiden voyage after four years and costs mushrooming to $200 million, according to reports.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/james-packers-new-200-million-giga-yacht-ready-for-maiden-voyage-and-its-bigger-than-steve-wynns\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/eji.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/eji.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Built by Italian shipbuilder Benetti, James Packer\u2019s $200 million yacht \u201cEJI\u201d is among the biggest private boats in the world and boasts a cinema, a large heated swimming pool, and over 3,000 feet of outdoor deck space. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. 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