Caesars Entertainment is reportedly in talks with the Chinese-owned ASF Consortium concerning running the gaming operations at the long-awaited AUD $3 billion integrated casino resort project in Queensland, Australia.

According to gambling news portal CalvinAyre.com, citing information from the Gold Coast Bulletin, the head of international development of Caesars Entertainment, Steve Tight, has been spotted in the Gold Coast area in Queensland where he was reportedly estimating the feasibility of a casino resort in the region.

Talking to the Bulletin, ASF Consortium’s director Louis Chien confirmed that Caesars Entertainment is in talks with ASF regarding the prospective casino’s operation. Chien, who also stressed that Ceasars was “one of many” operators being considered, didn’t reveal other details to the press, including whether last year’s frontrunners Crown Resorts belonged to the said group of “many”. Steve Tight was similarly secretive about whether Caesars has locked in ASF’s partnership, but also whether the company is considering a different project in the region.

The Gold Coast casino is a five-tower project that is to be developed by the ASF Consortium, whose members include the Chinese state-run CSCEC (China State Construction Engineering Company) and the ASF Group.  The resort was originally planned for Wave Break Island, but it was suspended after opposition from local environmental groups. ASF was then given the option to proceed at a different site, allegedly after “influencing” the Queensland government with a legal claim over the development project.  Back in March this year, Chien revealed that it was “not out of the realm of possibility” that the integrated project might be partially owned by the Chinese government.

The Queensland government finished with community consultations in April and is yet to reveal its decision on whether the casino should move on to the next process phase, which ASF is reportedly waiting on before submitting further design plans. According to Anthony Lynham, Minister for State Development of Queensland, the government might solicit bids for a second casino resort project in the region, should there be “notable interest” in the market, according to the news agency.