Nestled in the heart of Pyrmont is a battered casino in freefall with no sign of a parachute.
And in less than two weeks, Star Sydney’s current and former executives will be hauled before Adam Bell, SC, for a second time in 18 months. The outcome will affect 3000 employees and billions of dollars in state taxes.
The first probe by the Sydney barrister found The Star unfit to operate its Sydney casino and revealed extensive anti-money laundering and counterterrorism failings had festered for years beneath the surface of the once dubbed “cleanskin” business, confirming allegations first unveiled in a report by this masthead and 60 Minutes in 2021.
The embattled Star Sydney is about to face another round of public hearings. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
The casino regulator, the NSW Independent Casino Commission, has rolled out Bell again to decide whether The Star has satisfactorily overhauled its culture and is finally fit to operate. The commission has done so much to the chagrin of investors and senior leaders within the company.
The first Bell inquiry claimed the scalps of the ASX-listed company’s board, the bulk of its former executives and a decent chunk of its market capitalisation. But it wasn’t enough to appease the chief of the commission, Philip Crawford, who remains unconvinced that the heart of the business is committed to cultural renewal.
Last month, The Star’s third chief executive in four years, Robbie Cooke, quit. As did its chief financial officer, Christina Katsibouba, who was one of the few executives who somehow survived the fallout after the first inquiry.
Whether this is enough cultural renewal for Bell and Crawford remains to be seen, but even if The Star is found fit to operate it’s unlikely it will retain total control of its casino in NSW for some time.
Let’s take a look at four ways it could all pan out.
Four ways the cards could fall for Star Sydney
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07.04.2024
Nestled in the heart of Pyrmont is a battered casino in freefall with no sign of a parachute.
And in less than two weeks, Star Sydney’s current and former executives will be hauled before Adam Bell, SC, for a second time in 18 months. The outcome will affect 3000 employees and billions of dollars in state taxes.
The first probe by the Sydney barrister found The Star unfit to operate its Sydney casino and revealed extensive anti-money laundering and........
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