The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price is travelling higher today despite the Victorian Government's hasty announcement yesterday.
At the time of writing, Crown shares are swapping hands for $8.92, up 2.06%.
Crown updates Melbourne operating conditions
A possible catalyst for the Crown share price reaching higher today could be investors bargain hunting. The company's shares are not far off their 52-week low of $8.06.
In a statement to the ASX this morning, Crown advised that it has made a list of changes to its business operations.
This comes after the Victorian Government announced a snap 7-day lockdown yesterday for the entire state as COVID-19 cases rise.
In response, Crown closed all gaming activities, food and beverage, retail, banqueting and conference facilities last night.
The casino and resorts operator stated that hotel accommodation will continue only for approved purposes.
Furthermore, Crown will pay its Melbourne employees their rostered hours and salaries over the week-long lockdown.
Unfortunately, this is now the sixth lockdown that Victorians have had to endure. While most of them have been for a number of weeks, others have been for several months.
With no end in sight, this could be a regular occurrence until vaccination rates begin to rise.
About the Crown share price
It's been a disastrous time for Crown shares, recording heavy falls since the beginning of June.
AUSTRAC began investigating potentially serious breaches with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) laws by Crown Perth. In addition, Crown Melbourne has been having significant problems renewing its gambling licence in Victoria.
This led to the Crown share price dropping from its 52-week high of $13.32 to a low of $8.61 late last month.
Only time will tell if the company can regain the trust of authorities and continue to operate Australia's largest casinos.
The Crown share price is hovering 4.4% down over the past 12 months and is down 9.9% year to date.
