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Gaming & Wagering

Yesterday

Star’s Sydney casino has long been the embattled gaming company’s flagship asset.

How much is Star’s Sydney casino worth? Just $8m, says Barrenjoey

The broker has warned clients that the company will post years of losses as it struggles with falling revenues and big costs involved in developing its hotels.

  • Zoe Samios

September

Star has slashed more than $1.9 billion from the value of its flagship Sydney operation.

The two months that almost unravelled Star’s casino empire

Steve McCann knew his new job at the struggling gaming giant would be tough. Nothing prepared him for the first two months.

  • Zoe Samios and Anthony Macdonald
Star Entertainment boss Steve McCann had very little good news for investors in his one-hour presentation on Thursday, his first as CEO.

Star needs new friends to stop the bleeding

Where will Star Entertainment’s shares trade? Surely, it’s going to be ugly on Friday morning.

  • Anthony Macdonald
The Star’s chief executive, Steve McCann, is in the middle of a high-stakes game of corporate poker.

Star’s Steve McCann is not the CEO – he’s just ‘observing’

McCann is chief executive subject to regulatory approvals, which he does not yet have.

  • Myriam Robin
Star Entertainment wiped $1.6 billion from its assets including the newly launched Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane.

‘On its knees’: Star slashes $1b off its casinos, slumps to huge loss

The gaming company has released its financial accounts almost a month after its shares were suspended.

  • Zoe Samios, Anthony Macdonald and James Hall
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Queensland’s tax relief deal for Star is off, according to Premier Steven Miles.

Queensland threatens Star over its big tax bill bid

Premier Steven Miles threatened to walk away from discussions with the casino operator due to executives refusing to give up bonuses.

  • James Hall
Star Entertainment has won a lifeline.

Star Entertainment set to sign financial accounts as bailout finalised

The company – which operates casinos in Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast – has been in turmoil after it failed to lodge its accounts with the ASX.

  • Updated
  • Zoe Samios and Anthony Macdonald
Tourists and locals at Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane this week. But much of the complex is still closed, and is opening in stages.

Star’s Queen’s Wharf comes to life – unless you want to shop or eat

It’s been dubbed a “multistaged opening” or, in other words, a work in progress. But the sight of hi-vis and faint smell of sawdust haven’t deterred visitors.

  • Tess Bennett
Gambling influencer Benny Scarf is sponsored by Tabcorp’s Dabble.

Tabcorp’s youth bookmaker has its own viral star

An Instagram influencer spends thousands of dollars placing short-priced bets. But who’s funding him?

  • Mark Di Stefano
Star Entertainment has held talks with regulators, lenders and investors for nearly two weeks. It is seeking short-term financial relief.

Queensland government set to hand Star Entertainment a tax lifeline

Street Talk understands the state government has agreed to morph Star’s looming tax bill into a Treasury loan.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Aristocrat has won a preliminary injunction against its poker machine rival.

Aristocrat wins dragon game injunction against Caledonia-backed rival

The ruling prevents Light & Wonder from selling, leasing, or making money from its game Dragon Train in the US.

  • Zoe Samios
Tabcorp chairman Bruce Akhurst at Derby Day in 2022.

Tabcorp chairman Bruce Akhurst quits before he is pushed

Investors have been concerned about the wagering giant’s performance, with its shares down 50 per cent since the start of the year.

  • Updated
  • Zoe Samios
Laurence Escalante built Virtual Gaming Worlds into a multibillion-dollar business. But competition and regulatory pressures are mounting.

Online casino mogul gets into lotteries as profits surge

Revenues at Virtual Gaming Worlds, which pioneered the use of a loophole to offer casino-like games with cash prizes in the US, has soared above $6 billion, accounts show.

  • Updated
  • Primrose Riordan
John Sutherland is the manager of Crown Resorts’ Capital Golf Club in Melbourne. Capital was bought by Crown in 2013.

Blackstone’s Crown Resorts mulls sale of luxury Melbourne golf course

The 18-hole Capital is one of the country’s most private and catered exclusively for the casino group’s high rollers. Now wealthy businessmen want to revive it.

  • Zoe Samios
Star Entertainment has held talks with regulators, lenders and investors for nearly two weeks. It is seeking short-term financial relief.

Star Entertainment lands $100m instant cash injection in bailout deal

The casino’s lenders are now seeking approvals for a new two-tranche loan that would give new chief executive Steve McCann a chance to turn around the business.

  • Anthony Macdonald and Zoe Samios
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Tabcorp chairman Bruce Akhurst at Derby Day in 2022.

Knives out for Tabcorp chairman as McLachlan gets to work

Gillon McLachlan’s ideal running mate, most suggest, would be Brett Chenoweth, who joined the Tabcorp board in late 2022.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
betting

Sportsbet loss promoter’s immortal one line

When did it become footy culture to have a losing three-leg multi rammed down your throat on a Friday night?

  • Mark Di Stefano
No worries here: Star CEO Steve McCann:

Not even Star’s collapse could halt CEO’s bonuses

Whoever tips in money to solve Star’s cash crunch has a real chance of losing it. But not Steve McCann.

  • Myriam Robin
Star Entertainment has held talks with regulators, lenders and investors for nearly two weeks. It is seeking short term financial relief.

Star’s lenders offer $150m lifeline as casino fights for survival

The gaming group, which operates in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, has been in turmoil since its shares were suspended from trade earlier this month.

  • Zoe Samios and Anthony Macdonald
Blackstone real estate boss Chris Tynan.

Blackstone is burning through Crown Casino

The global real estate giant has lost another top-ranking casino executive, to go with the two others who left last month.

  • Mark Di Stefano

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/companies/games-and-wagering