January
- Updated
- Casinos
Star Entertainment sells Sydney events venue in fire sale
The ASX-listed company had warned earlier this month that it was not certain whether it could avoid collapse, as debts mounted and revenue remained weak.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
10 CEOs under the pump in 2025
Overextended stockmarket valuations equal heightened investor expectations. The market has these 10 chief executives in its sights.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Casinos
Why Star is like Stephen Hawking’s black hole
The publicly exposed failures of Australia’s casino industry and Star in particular is a case study in geese, golden eggs, hubris and astrophysics.
- Tony Robinson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
A rescue deal for Star won’t solve its existential crisis
Star’s mounting losses show the urgency of its ugly situation. But even winning the support of governments and lenders won’t solve its biggest problem.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Star talks hinge on $350 million question
Star Entertainment’s Steve McCann is yet to see the whites of his lenders and governments’ eyes. The time is coming.
- Anthony Macdonald
- Updated
- Casinos
Star has six weeks to find financing as NSW, Queensland rule out help
The company, which operates casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, has been burning through cash faster than the market expected as gamblers stay away.
- Updated
- Amelia McGuire and Anthony McDonald
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Cash burn puts Star on its deathbed. Its only hope is a deal
Only a white knight can save the casino operator from becoming Australia’s biggest corporate collapse since Virgin Australia in 2020.
- Anthony Macdonald
November 2024
Star’s long-suffering lenders are starting to become very impatient
Of note, it comes as potential bidders start to appraise the potential of Star’s individual assets.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
September 2024
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
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
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
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
McCann’s Star plan collides with angry lenders, politics
It’s one thing to have a turnaround plan, it is another to get the clear air to pull it off.
- Anthony Macdonald
August 2024
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The Star’s still too big to fail. Its redemption rests with one man
The Star will be given yet another lifeline. But its new rescuer-in-chief faces an incredibly difficult task.
- James Thomson
July 2024
Steve McCann’s big London trip
McCann took the reins of Star Entertainment on July 8. And on July 15, he was off to London, with the board’s acquiescence.
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Steve McCann takes his biggest punt with embattled casino giant Star
As far as turnarounds go, this is bigger than Boral, Bapcor and Seven West Media combined. “I had room for one more,” he says when asked why he took the job.
- Anthony Macdonald
- Exclusive
- Casinos
Gaming no longer ‘glorious part of the business’: Star boss
Steve McCann says the company’s casino business might never return to the boom times and its future is likely to lie in its restaurants and hotels.
- Anthony Macdonald and Zoe Samios
June 2024
- Updated
- Casinos
Former Lendlease boss Steve McCann takes top job at Star Entertainment
The businessman also ran the casino group’s rival, Crown Resorts, before it was sold to Blackstone. He will receive a $2.5 million sign-on bonus.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios
April 2024
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Is this the person to save fallen Star Entertainment?
The clean-up of the gaming company is one for the ages. And there’s a name keeps coming up as a potential salvage CEO - former Lendlease boss Steve McCann.
- Updated
- Anthony Macdonald
July 2022
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Challenge facing Crown’s new CEO: Packer’s legacy
Blackstone has called in the casino big guns from Las Vegas and Macau to right Crown Resorts, and the two executives are stepping into a regulatory minefield.
- Updated
- Tony Boyd
June 2022
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
‘Ups and downs’: Packer’s emotional farewell to Crown (and the ASX)
Crown’s reform efforts and Blackstone’s perseverance have allowed James Packer to walk away from the mess at Crown Resorts with a handsome payday.
- James Thomson
January 2022
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Packer set for $3.3b payday in bittersweet Crown exit
Gaming billionaire James Packer is set to walk away from a 20-year involvement with Crown Resorts after Blackstone’s $8.9 billion takeover offer.
- Tony Boyd