Four months after he failed to buy a Las Vegas casino, billionaire James Packer is back on the world famous strip – this time in talks to develop a new resort.

The Crown Resorts chairman has bought a piece of a loan attached to land once occupied by the New Frontier Hotel & Casino, a Bloomberg report says. A Crown spokesman did not return calls.

The report said Mr Packer was negotiating with creditor Oaktree Capital Group, which bought the debt at a discount after plans to build a casino resort there stalled,

Mr Packer was badly burnt by two US investments, worth $2 billion, made just before the global financial crisis struck. He has subsequently described the US casino foray – which put Crown’s balance sheet under pressure – as one of his ­biggest strategic mistakes.

But the $12 billion Melbourne-based company, of which Mr Packer controls 50 per cent, is now in a stronger financial position.

Crown is pursuing several growth opportunities locally and overseas. It has committed to building a $1.5 billion luxury hotel and casino in Sydney. In a consortium with Chinese property developer Greenland, it is one of two final bidders to develop a new entertainment and casino complex in Brisbane. Rival Echo Entertainment Group is the other Brisbane bidder.

Crown expressed an interest in bidding for Vegas casino The Cosmopolitan in April. However, Blackstone Group ended up buying the asset.

Mr Packer’s latest Vegas attempt could be well timed. The city’s economy has been recovering. The unemployment rate for the area dropped to the lowest since 2008 in April, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. Tourism is also up – there were 20.7 million visitors this year through June 30, a 4.2 per cent increase over the first half of last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Two Israeli groups paid $US1.2 billion to buy the Vegas strip property in question in 2007 and had the New Frontier hotel demolished in November that year. They planned to spend $US6 billion to $US8 billion developing a hotel and casino complex on the 34.5-acre site across the strip from Wynn Resorts’ casino. The project was abandoned as property values plunged.

Oaktree, the world’s biggest distressed-debt investor, now owns more than half the abandoned project’s loan after buying the debt at a discount of as much as 50 per cent. Credit Suisse Group helped arrange a $US625 million loan tied to the property, and sold Oaktree at least a portion of the debt.

Crown plans to spend $US400 million ($428 million) in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on a new hotel and casino. Its Hong Kong-listed Melco Crown joint venture is developing new casinos in Macau and the ­Philippines.

Plans to take advantage of the potential opening of Japan’s casino market were helped along this week, by a meeting between Crown executive Todd Nisbet and Osaka governor Ichiro Matsui.

with Bloomberg