The Chinese government appears to be looking for a showdown with Australian billionaire James Packer. Packer's gaming empire, Crown Resorts, is reeling in response to the massive raids on its Chinese operations and the detention of 18 staff. The longer term business and public relations ramifications are still unclear, as is any effect the raids may have on the economics of Packer's Sydney Barangaroo casino project which aims squarely at capturing the Chinese VIP gaming market. It appears to be no accident that Chinese authorities undertook the highly orchestrated precision raids on all Crown International's Chinese ... (full story)