This Month
- Exclusive
- Crown Resorts
Crown Resorts wants to add pokies to the mix at its Sydney casino
The Blackstone-owned hospitality and gambling giant has been prohibited from installing gaming machines under terms struck when it secured its NSW licence.
- Zoe Samios
Queensland defers Star’s licence suspension decision
A decision on suspending Star’s licence has been deferred as the new Queensland government vows to scrutinise troubled gaming operator.
- James Hall
- Exclusive
- Gaming & wagering
Victorian gaming regulator Annette Kimmitt quits
The former MinterEllison chief executive joined the Victorian gaming regulator when it was given more power to penalise misconduct.
- Zoe Samios
November
Star chief executive warns liquidity at ‘critical point’
Steve McCann has asked for patience after revealing an unaudited loss for the start of the financial year.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios
Light & Wonder eyes UAE after strong North America gains
The Caledonia-backed gaming giant has brushed off concerns about court action from its major rival Aristocrat, claiming the financial impact is not material.
- Zoe Samios
- Exclusive
- Crown Resorts
Blackstone builds Crown Resorts debt bomb as casino profits slide
The private equity giant says it’s comfortable with the big loan it took to buy the casino operator, despite the interest bill and an earnings crunch.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios and Amelia McGuire
October
Crown sells abandoned Southbank precinct, private jet
Blackstone’s casino giant Crown Resorts has narrowed its losses and is shedding some of its biggest assets to offset financial challenges.
- Zoe Samios
- Updated
- The Star Entertainment Group
Star Entertainment hit with hefty fine, but keeps key Sydney licence
The decision by the NSW gaming regulator comes two months after a report authored by Adam Bell, SC, found the casino group unsuitable to operate.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios and Anthony Macdonald
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
All this drama at Star for a slap on the wrist and $15m fine?
The casino group gets one more chance in Sydney, but is far from being out of the woods. It could go broke if it doesn’t secure a big new backer by this time next year.
- Anthony Macdonald
- Exclusive
- Crown Resorts
Blackstone quietly injects almost $500m into ailing Crown Resorts
The financing came a year after the firm acquired the casino operator for $8.9 billion. Its operations have been hurt by fines and a lack of high rollers.
- Zoe Samios and Anthony Macdonald
Blackstone’s Crown knocked back in NSW pokies request
Sources said the proposal involved buying poker machines that would have otherwise been purchased by the NSW government under a five-year buyback scheme.
- Zoe Samios
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
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
‘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
- Updated
- Gaming & wagering
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
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Star funding deal done, now to prevent a white elephant
Star Entertainment’s directors will get over one hurdle, only to face the next. Such is the life of a casino operator in 2024.
- Anthony Macdonald
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
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
- Updated
- Gaming & wagering
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
- Exclusive
- Crown Resorts
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