James Packer rolls NSW Labor over Barangaroo casino Winning design for James Packer's hotel and casino development at Barangaroo. James Packer has taken no chances with his Sydney casino PR blitzkrieg - even the irrelevant Labor opposition has been taken care of as that shadow of a political force rolls over and plays dead for the billionaire. There should be little surprise about that. When the nominal Opposition Leader has no regrets about not reporting an alleged $3 million bribery attempt, he's unlikely to be concerned about Packer's exploitation of the "unsolicited proposal" mechanism to avoid an open tender for Sydney's second casino. Meanwhile, the NSW government can't believe its luck. Labor isn't just a "small target" opposition; it's disappeared. James Packer. As a NSW cabinet member recently told me, the Liberals can't understand why, if only for purely political reasons, Labor didn't lift a withered finger while Packer's Crown Resorts was handed its Barangaroo goldmine. It should have been a gift issue for the opposition - "the Premier in Packer's pocket" - but hiring the right machine men meant Labor was already in there to welcome him. So the formalities of second-rate government roll on, Labor adding its Play-Doh stamp to the government's rubber one, and the public will never know how much it missed out on by denying the world's best casino operators the opportunity to compete with Crown, or to consider what the best number of casinos might be. From now to its opening in 2019 and beyond, we'll be treated to the Packer machine continuing to bend government and various authorities to its will. The Packer palace has already slipped into a better position on the waterfront. If it follows the path of Melbourne's Crown casino there should be a steady stream of "variations" to enhance Crown's returns. With such a comprehensive victory in Sydney, Packer can move on to Queensland where Premier Campbell Newman has swallowed the international tourism excuse for issuing new casino licences. That actually works when there is a competitive cluster of casinos offering a much bigger gambling experience (Macau, Las Vegas) or a single spectacular development in a geographically advantaged position without much competition from alternative tourism attractions (Singapore). Up for grabs in Brisbane is a prime CBD site that the government wants to become an international magnet for tourists, an iconic development with the impact of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands. Good luck with that. The local duopoly of Echo and Crown, already front runners in Brisbane, have no interest in international high rollers by-passing Sydney for Brisbane. For all the rhetoric, local punters remain the main market for our capital city casinos, even those euphemistically and hilariously called "VIP-restricted gaming facilities." Echo and Crown know that. Crown's main game to win over Echo's most profitable customers. The state governments know it too. Don't expect any of them to admit it. And the NSW public soldiers on without a state opposition, even though the 27 per cent swing in the Miranda byelection indicates there's a mood not to support the government. If enough people ask nicely and if the Coalition ever dares not to give him immediately what he wants, maybe James Packer will let them borrow his.