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Zoe Samios

Today

Star on verge of collapse, sweats on last-minute rescue

The casino giant is unsure sure it can continue to trade and is waiting on “one or more liquidity” proposals.

Yesterday

Star’s casino in the Gold Coast has been one of the company’s assets that is sought after by suitors.

Star Entertainment’s board is struggling to sign off on its accounts

Failure to finalise its finances would put the casino operator’s ability to keep its shares trading in doubt and bring its financial predicament to a head.

Premier Roger Cook believes the NRL needs WA more than his state needs the NRL.

Cook’s message for V’landys: WA doesn’t need the NRL

WA premier says NRL brass must understand rugby league is a relative minnow west of the Nullarbor, and his government won’t bend over backwards to secure a team.

PointsBet CEO Sam Swanell rejected the local bookmaker’s offer over lack of details on synergies and funding uncertainty.

PointsBet spars with spurned suitor BlueBet over funding and synergies

The ASX-listed bookmaker has agreed to sell itself to Japan’s Mixi, angering backers of its Matthew Tripp-run rival who claim it is leaving money on the table.

Keybridge Capital’s Nick Bolton.

Keybridge’s lawyer warned against using administration to avoid board spill

Silk Andrew Broadfoot urged Keybridge to be cautious about a decision to appoint an administrator days before a shareholder meeting.

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This Month

Matt Tripp, BlueBet’s chairman, sent a letter to PointsBet on Tuesday, saying its offer was more compelling than Mixi’s.

Major PointsBet investors back BlueBet over Mixi’s $353m takeover bid

The wagering group is the subject of two proposals. Its board has backed the Japanese entertainment giant’s buyout plans over one from its local rival.

Danny Townsend is the Australian sports administrator who has found himself at the top of Saudi Arabia’s international ambitions for the sector.

The Australian at the heart of Saudi’s billion-dollar push to dominate global sport

Danny Townsend ran Sydney FC and then the A-League. Now he’s in the box seat to observe Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to dominate world sport. Will his gamble pay off?

Cost overruns at the Star Casino and Queens Wharf complex in Brisbane have added to the group’s financial woes.

US casinos group Bally’s Corporation joins Star Entertainment scramble

As the clock ticks on Star Entertainment’s future, a newcomer is taking a look at its casinos.

Star’s Gold Coast casino is in Broadbeach and coveted by the company’s big shareholder, Bruce Mathieson.

Bruce Mathieson made second secret bid for Star’s Gold Coast casino

The informal offer was made last month and included a significant amount of up-front cash to help the embattled company navigate its financial difficulties.

DAZN specialises in sports streaming, buying up rights to heavyweight title fights and football matches.

Saudi government buys stake in Foxtel’s new owner, DAZN

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it ultimately gives the Gulf kingdom an influential voice in the Australian broadcast market.

Crypto casino and Everton sponsor Stake.com is leaving the United Kingdom.

Stake.com to quit Britain after Bonnie Blue video controversy

The Melbourne-run, Caribbean-registered online casino giant is the main sponsor of English Premier League club Everton but will leave the country next month.

Star’s former chief casino officer Greg Hawkins has agreed to settle with ASIC.

Second former Star executive settles in midst of ASIC lawsuit

Greg Hawkins was the company’s chief casino officer and the court heard he agreed to a deal with a junket operator despite suspicions about its criminal links.

Nick Bolton and Antony Catalano.

The end of the bromance: how Bolton and Catalano came unstuck

In an audacious corporate raid, Nick Bolton and Antony Catalano made Magellan blink. Then they fought over the spoils.

Plus fours? LIV Golf has a party feel in Adelaide.

LIV Golf is here to make purists shudder. They like it that way

LIV Golf has brought a party atmosphere to the manicured lawns of Adelaide’s Grange golf links and the tournament’s new global CEO says the sport’s great disruptor is just getting started.

The former board of Star, who are facing civil penalties for alleged breaches of directors’ duties (L-R): John O’Neill, Matt Bekier, Kathleen Lahey, Richard Sheppard, Gerard Bradley, Sally Pitkin, Benjamin Heap and Zlatko Todorcevski.

Why the Star case has unnerved Australian boardrooms

“It’s a private company” is a big selling point for directors when headhunters call, and ASIC’s case against the embattled casino group is making many directors more nervous about public company boards.

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Ten former Star directors and executives are being sued by ASIC for breaching their directors duties.

Star suggested using yacht invoices to cover dodgy transactions: ASIC

The corporate regulator is alleging that concerns about Star’s practices were so widespread that banks and card providers had raised issues with executives.

Sam Kerr arriving at Kingston Crown Court, earlier in the trial.

Sam Kerr found not guilty of racist slur

The jury was unanimous, but the judge said the soccer star’s behaviour “contributed significantly to the bringing of this allegation”.

Footage provided to an earlier inquiry into potential money laundering at Star.

ASIC claims Star directors ‘merely ornaments’ in flood of warnings

Lawyers acting for the corporate regulator alleged former directors and executives repeatedly ignored signs of money laundering at the company’s casinos.

Star Entertainment former chief executive Matt Bekier and chairman John O’Neill.

ASIC says Star’s former board was ‘blind to questions of probity’

The regulator is suing the casino operator’s former directors, alleging they did not take enough care when dealing with the risky world of high-rollers.

The Queen’s Wharf casino complex in Brisbane is shaping up as one of Star’s best hopes for a financial lifeline.

Star Entertainment mulls walking away from Brisbane casino ownership

Under one proposal to ease the casino group’s financial woes, two Hong Kong investors would assume control of the Queen’s Wharf complex and its debts.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/zoe-samios-p4yvph