Crown Resorts’ new owner Blackstone is continuing to ring in the changes at the casino operator, picking industry veteran Mark McWhinnie to run Crown’s Sydney operations.

The former Macau bigwig will take the reins on October 4, subject to regulatory approval, following the previously announced departure of Simon McGrath, who only joined the company in February.

McWhinnie’s 40-year gaming and hospitality career has involved working in executive roles in Australia, Japan, China and most recently, Singapore, where he took a contracted role as Marina Bay Sands’ senior vice president after departing Sands China in 2019.

McWhinnie has worked with new Crown Resorts chief Ciaran Carruthers during his time in Macau. Carruthers formally started leading the company at the beginning of September but his appointment was announced just two weeks after New-York based private equity firm Blackstone took over the company.

In 2019, an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes revealed Crown had been infiltrated by international criminal syndicates and money launderers. Since then, government inquiries in the three states where its casinos operate have ruled it unfit to hold a casino licence, preventing it from opening the high-rise casino at its newest $2.2 billion tower at Sydney’s Barangaroo in late 2020.

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Crown was forced to overhaul its board, management and procedures to satisfy the regulators, who approved a conditional licence for Crown to operate its Barangaroo casino in June. The conditional licence is valid until December 31, 2023.

Crown shareholders voted to accept an $8.9 billion takeover offer from Blackstone in May, ending three years of chaos under former major shareholder James Packer.

Blackstone had stalked then ASX-listed Crown for more than a year before the pair completed the $8.9 billion takeover, worth $13.10 cash per share, in June.