(Adds resignation of directors, updates shares)
** Shares of casino giant Crown Resorts CWN.AX drop as
much as 8.9% to A$9.250, their biggest intraday pct fall since
Oct 19
** An industry report on Tuesday deemed Crown to be
unsuitable to hold a gambling licence for its flagship new
Sydney resort unless it makes sweeping changes to its board and
culture urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KF0AU
** Two directors nominated by top shareholder James Packer
resigned on Wednesday urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KF3IZ
** Citi expects Tuesday's watchdog report of Crown to set
the stage for a trade buyer or private equity firm to pick up
part of billionaire James Packer's stake in the casino giant
** One recommendation in the report is for a 10% limit on
any casino shareholdings in New South Wales without specific
approval, which may force major shareholder Packer to sell down
some of his 35% stake in CWN
** Stock hits lowest since Nov. 23, 2020
** About 3.2 mln shares change hands, compared with the
30-day average vol of 1 mln shares
** As of last close, stock up 5.4% this year
(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan and Shriya Ramakrishnan)
((NikhilKurian.Nainan@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter:
@NikhilKurianN))