New $100M hotel to help transform NT into global tourism mecca

Chief Executive Officer of IRIS Capital Sam Arnaout has promised to transform Alice Springs’ Lasseters Hotel Casino into a “true” international resort. 

Arnaout unveiled plans to invest over $100 million to build a new hotel at the complex which was made famous in the 1994 Australian hit movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. 

Iris Capital will reposition the casino floor, upgrade the casino’s convention centre and introduce new food and beverage offerings 

The news comes after the Northern Territory government approved IRIS’ application to operate the casino.

“The venue has been needing recapitalisation for some time, so we have turned our heads to that. We intend to undertake a repositioning of the casino that will make it a true international integrated resort,” Arnaout told The Australian Financial Review. 

“We plan to start works to bring it back to its true, deserving form as soon as we have secured final approvals.”

The hotel will have an indigenous flavour and will complement Alice Springs’ famed Aboriginal art galleries. 

A second accommodation will be added alongside the casino’s existing 4.5-star, 205-room hotel operated by IHG Hotels & Resorts. 

Iris Capital acquired the casino from Singapore’s Lasseters International Holdings for $105 million.

IRIS’ plan for the casino is aligned with the combined vision of the NT government and Tourism NT for Alice Springs. 

The Northern Territory is aiming to become Australia’s inland capital and a global tourism icon.

Irit Jackson, 21^st October 2021