It may be hard to fathom that Packer is moving into a more momentous period than 2014 – in which the Crown Resorts chairman watched a slump in the stock wipe $1.5 billion from his $7 billion fortune and he wrestled in an embarrassing brawl with his former best mate, Nine Entertainment boss David Gyngell.

But 2015 marks the start of a five-year period in which Crown and Melco Crown – its Macau joint venture – have committed to about $9 billion worth of casino developments around the world. After a busy festive season, Packer's dance card is already filling. He will be called upon for at least one ribbon-cutting every year out to 2020.

Pulled off without a hitch, the ambitious pipeline will give Crown a suite of sparkling casino assets across tourism hot spots to draw in the growing mass of Chinese travellers.

But if it is poorly timed on account of Chinese punters who are fearful of splashing cash overseas amid a government-led corruption crackdown, Crown could be exposed.

Twelve months ago such doubts would barely have been entertained.

In 2013 nothing could go wrong for Crown. Shares in Melco, in which it has a 33.6 per cent stake, more than doubled on the back of a record-breaking year of gambling in Macau. Packer won over former NSW premier Barry O'Farrell for the opportunity to build a luxury hotel and casino in Sydney and he seemed to make similarly rapid pace on an adventurous bid in Sri Lanka.

But in 2014 the tables turned. Macau succumbed to smoking bans and the corruption crackdown. Gambling revenue in the Chinese enclave fell for the first time in 11 years (although at $54 billion it is still more than seven times the size of Las Vegas). The Sri Lanka bid is now rarely mentioned.

At home Crown's two casinos struggled against sluggish spending. Reliance on Macau for growth is laid bare in estimates for the current year, which show profit going backwards as the region trembles

And now Crown is fighting to build a new Brisbane casino against a resurgent Echo Entertainment Group.

Packer has ploughed on regardless.

He bought land in Las Vegas for a $US1.9 billion ($2.3 billion) casino and via Melco opened a Manila casino.

So now what's left? Melco will open its third Macau casino Studio City, costing some $US2.3 billion, in 2015. Crown's $500 million hotel and car park extension in Perth will finish in 2016. A new hotel at City of Dreams Macau, the Las Vegas resort and of course Crown Sydney are slated to open in 2017, 2018 and 2019. And Crown Melbourne will also get a new hotel tower, although the details are yet to be finalised.

Some of the costs will be borne by partners – for example in Vegas Crown will invest up to $US500 million. In Melbourne and Sydney Crown will sell apartments from its towers to recoup costs. But how Crown will pay for the rest is a legitimate concern.

Credit Suisse analyst Larry Gandler estimates Crown has access to $2.7 billion in on-balance funding capacity out to 2020. But he is also worried that the slowdown in VIP activity may be prolonged, putting dividends from Melco at risk and hitting local activity.

Underlining the difficulty of guessing the Chinese government's intentions, analysts are all over the shop in predicting a rebound in Macau. Among eight surveyed by Bloomberg, estimates for revenue growth in Macau in 2015 ranged from a fall of 9 per cent to a 10 per cent rise.

If the slowdown affects Crown's long to-do list, it wouldn't be the first time Packer has over-extended – as watchers of his ill-timed Las Vegas foray before the crisis will remember.

Casinos are often thought of as a venture to print money, but Packer needs good timing to pull off his plan. Unless China relaxes its crackdown, such luck looks in short supply.