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This Month

The gaming floor at Crown Resorts’ Sydney casino. The company is now allowed to operate poker machines, however.

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
A decision on Star’s gaming licence has been deferred by the new Queensland government.

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
Annette Kimmitt is leaving the Victorian gaming regulator.

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

Even with a touch of Steve McCann magic, Star’s rehabilitation could take years.

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
Artist impression of Wynn Resorts’ upcoming resort on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.

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
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Crown Melbourne has been affected by new restrictions that have driven away some of the company’s high-rolling gamblers.

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

The One Queensbridge complex was supposed to become Melbourne’s tallest tower. The plans were abandoned in 2019.

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
Star Entertainment will keep operating its Sydney casino under the supervision of an independent manger.

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
NSW casino regulator Philip Crawford.

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
Crown Melbourne has struggled financially since it introduced compulsory carded play last year.

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
Crown Resorts wanted poker machines at its Sydney casino.

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
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 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
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
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New Star Entertainment CEO Steve McCann’s fix-up job has barely begun.

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
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
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
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

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