James Packer’s grand plans to build a Las Vegas casino have sparked a $460 million hit to the billionaire Crown Resorts chairman’s stake even before the first sod is turned.

Crown’s share price has fallen $1.25, or 8 per cent, since the company announced on Monday it had created a new majority-owned subsidiary that will develop a casino resort on 14 hectares it had bought at the northern end of the strip.

Melco Crown's 'City of Dreams' casino: Weak results from Macau extended Crown's share losses that were kicked off when the company revealed its Las Vegas foray on Monday. Credit:Bloomberg

For Mr Packer, the plunge means the value of his 364 million shares has fallen from $5.83 billion to $5.37billion. He controls just more than 50 per cent of Crown.

On Friday, Crown shares fell 43¢, or 2.8 per cent, to $14.75.