Robbie Cooke to start as CEO, managing director of The Star Entertainment Group on Monday

He’s got his work cut out for him - meet the new boss of under-fire Star Entertainment Group.

There’s hitting the ground running in a new job – and there’s this.
When he turns up at the helm of Star Entertainment on Monday, Robbie Cooke is going to have to hit it flying.

The gambling industry veteran begins his job as managing director and CEO as the State Government drafts a show-cause notice to the group, having declared it unsuitable to hold a Queensland casino licence.

He’ll be shown to his new desk amid reignited support for a competing casino on the Gold Coast, the city which has generated much of the group’s income in recent years.

And he’ll be expected to balance the pressure to make money for shareholders with criticism of Star’s “one-eyed focus on profit”, as per the findings of a searing independent inquiry.

The Darling on the Gold Coast. Pic Tim Marsden

Mr Cooke’s multimillion-dollar pay packet is also partly linked to the company’s net profit, along with regulatory and risk management, employee engagement, and guest satisfaction.

His terms include a base salary package of $1.6m, with potential short and long-term incentives worth more than $2.5m and a further $1.6m sign-on grant, subject to shareholder approval.

Mr Cooke, who’s held CEO and MD roles at Tyro Payments and Tatts Group, said profits would come second to ensuring The Star was “operating at the highest level of integrity”.

“Rather than profit, you’ve got to look at shareholder value, protecting the business with the utmost level of compliance,” he said.

“The reviews called out the practice of putting profit above compliance, and that has hurt shareholders.”

Robbie Cooke. Photo: AAP/ Ric Frearson

While the challenges in coming weeks are undeniable, Mr Cooke has a headstart of sorts in that he won’t have to conduct forensic reviews into the state of the business – those have been done by two state governments.

“We’re definitely facing a few issues and there’s no sidestepping those,” Mr Cooke said.

“The issues are confronting and there’s no denying the business had lost its way in a lot of ways.”

Mr Cooke said Star had “stared into those issues” in recent months, and he was confident they would be tackled.

“It is an unusual circumstance, but the thing for me, that’s attracted me to this role, is that it’s fundamentally a great business, because of the 8000 team members who have done the right thing,” he said.

“My priority will be rebuilding the trust and demonstrating our commitment to operate with the highest levels of integrity.”

Mr Cooke said he hoped to build an environment where Star staff felt safe to “call out behaviours when they need to be called out”.

Brisbane-based Mr Cooke will split his time between his home town, Sydney and the Gold Coast, which he described as “the gold star” in the business.

He would not be drawn on what impact a second casino licensee could have on that gold-star status, saying it was a matter for the State Government.

‘It’s not front of my mind, we’ve got a $2bn master plans for the Gold Coast, and the property there is in the best shape I’ve ever seen it.”

Star’s new eyes on the casino hustlers

September 4, 2022: As long as casinos have existed, swindlers have made them a mark.

Hollywood film franchises have been built on the big ­paydays supposedly earned by ripping off “the house”.

At a time when counterfeit casino chips can be bought by the sackload, and infinite online forums are dedicated to scamming the tables, Zhan Spalding is the woman standing in their way.

The 30-year casino surveillance veteran starts a newly created role at Star Entertainment on Monday, September 5. She will oversee surveillance of The Star Gold Coast and, eventually, Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane, as the listed firm’s multibillion-dollar Queensland expansion continues.

For security reasons, there’s plenty she can’t say about the ratbags she’s come across in her career, but there is one story she is willing to share.

On a warm New Year’s Eve, while Ms Spalding was heading surveillance at SkyCity Auckland, a particularly slippery customer brought in a load of fake $1000 chips.

The gambler, playing with a mix of fake and genuine chips, came to the attention of staff after some fakes he’d circulated turned up at the cash-out cage and their electronic trackers did not match the face values.

The hunt began.

“You can imagine, New Year’s Eve on the customer floor, how many people you have,” Ms Spalding said.

“As much as it sounds easy, when you have a casino of 7000 people in and we didn’t have facial recognition or a reception where the people had to sign in, it took a lot of work to be able to do that.

“Through the police, the person has been actually caught at the airport, after we worked with them, and has been prosecuted. It was very satisfying.”

Star's new General Manager of Surveillance Qld , Zhan Spalding at The Darling. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Technology has given potential cheats new methods, but also given casinos new weapons with which to fight both internal and external threats.

Facial recognition is already being used in The Star’s properties where, according to its privacy policy, it may be used for a range of purposes, including safety, security, analytics and to identify excluded persons.

It’s an area Star has come under fire in recent weeks as its suitability to hold a licence in Queensland was put under the microscope at a government-commissioned inquiry. It heard the integrity of Queensland’s casino operations were put in “serious jeopardy” by Star’s “errors”, allowing highrolling gamblers banned in other states to have a punt on the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

The Star said Ms Spalding’s appointment would add to the existing team as the company expanded and a new surveillance model was implemented.

Jess Mellor and Jamie Cali from Destination Gold Coast Consortium at The Star's Dorsett Tower.

The Star Gold Coast chief operating officer Jess Mellor said she was delighted to ­attract Ms Spalding.

“She has extensive expertise in surveillance technology implementation, multi-site management, restructuring and streamlining processes, which we will be relying on as we ­further cement our position as the Gold Coast’s premium tourism and entertainment destination,” Ms Mellor said.

“Her appointment underpins The Star’s growth and investment in Queensland as well as bolstering our female leadership ranks. The Star has a target of 45 per cent female and 45 per cent male representation in leadership roles while the remaining 10 per cent recognises the need to create space for non-binary gender identities.”

Ms Spalding, who began her gaming career in Prague and has worked globally said promotion of gender equality was attractive.

“There have been many times I was the only woman in a surveillance team, so I am passionate about encouraging other women.

The secret to casino surveillance was not a specific education, but natural attributes: “That’s why a lot of women are good at it, because they’re curious and ask questions, have persistence and patience.”