The Star’s former boss Robbie Cooke has defended his tenure at the helm of the struggling casino giant as an inquiry weighs its future.
Crown Sydney has proven it can clean up its act. But across the city,its arch rival The Star is facing a very different outlook.
The NSW casino regulator has given Barangaroo’s Crown Sydney a gold star just as the second public inquiry into Star Entertainment’s culture enters the pointy end of proceedings.
Ciaran Carruthers has not ruled out further redundancies or changes to Crown’s operations as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hurt earnings at its casinos.
Pubs billionaire Bruce Mathieson has increased his hold in The Star as an executive revealed Star Sydney’s safer-gambling teams were trained by reading a 15-page booklet.
A clear pattern is emerging from the Bell inquiry into Star Entertainment – that of a financially and culturally embattled company being managed by a chief executive desperately juggling too many problems.
When four machines malfunctioned on the gaming room floor at The Star casino and started spitting out free money,word travelled quickly.
The Star’s special manager has accused the company of extensive compliance breaches including widespread falsification of welfare checks and a failure to stop casino customers from getting $3.2 million in company money.
The government has called on regulatory advisory business Nicholls MMC to assist it with navigating a potential ban on gambling ads,nearly one year after the recommendations.
An early test of a plan to thwart the billions of dollars in dirty money being laundered through pubs and clubs has highlighted a key weakness.
Matthew Tripp’s Betr and BlueBet have reached a deal to merge,ending intrigue that has swirled for the better part of a year.