Star seeks to poach Crown staff

Troubled Star Entertainment is in the sights of casino regulators, but it hasn’t stopped going on hunting missions to hire staff from rival Crown Resorts.

The regulator may have Star Entertainment in its sights but the troubled casino group is doing a little hunting of its own.

Star has launched a special jobs portal seeking expressions of interest from employees from rival Crown, which last week announced it was slashing hundreds of jobs.

Star says it has openings in its restaurants and bars, hotels, gaming operations and corporate teams across its properties in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

It is offering relocation packages for certain roles, complimentary meals, discounted parking and career development at The Star Academy.

Crown Resorts will slash up to 1000 jobs after a sharp drop in tourists and gaming restrictions hit its key properties in Sydney and Melbourne.

Star certainly has some vacancies at the top of the organisation with the chief executive, chief financial officer, chief legal officer and chief of staff all exiting the business in recent months amid growing regulatory missteps and the Bell II inquiry into whether it is suitable to hold a casino licence in Sydney.

New Star chair AnneWard told the Bell inquiry last week, in its current condition, the company could not be considered suitable to hold a licence and may need a further period of supervision when special manager Nicholas Weeks’ term ends in September.

Star has pounced after Crown slashed staff.

Park on his way
Popular Brisbane restaurateur Andrew Park, who suffered a serious medical incident in Thailand last month, is on his way back to Australia after friends raised more than $200,000 in less than a day to fund the emergency evacuation.

Park had a diabetic episode in Thailand, went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated, during which he sustained a brain injury, the impact of which is still unknown.

Mates put together a hastily arranged fundraising effort on mycause for Park, a former honorary Queensland consul for Thailand and an ex-adviser to former foreign minister Alexander Downer.

The appeal went out last Wednesday with the ambitious goal of raising $250,000 to get him home.

Within days the goal had been met, meaning all his medical costs and transfer have been covered.

Friends describe Park as “the first to turn up to help a friend when the chips were down, the first one to call you to celebrate your wins, and the one standing next to you trying to make you laugh when you needed to be cheered up”.

Andrew Park is heading back home.

Property hire
Investments in a raft of high-end hotel and resort projects, approaching $2bn in value, has prompted property investment manager CF Capital Investments to appoint industry veteran Simon Milneto the chief executive role.

Milne previously served as chief financial officer at property-funds giant Industry Super Property Trust (ISPT).

Paul Chiodo, managing director at CF Capital’s parent Chiodo Corporation, says luring Milne from ISPT was a major coup, with the new CEO bringing more than 30 years’ experience and a stellar track record in the property funds sector to the Chiodo stable.

Chiodo Corporation’s tourism and leisure projects include the $500m, 250-room Port Douglas Resort to be managed under the Fairmont Hotels brand and the $250m, 140-room “eco-cultural” hotel and conference centre on Queensland’s K’gari (Fraser Island).

Simon Milne has joined CF Capital as chief executive.