Star Entertainment Group Queensland boss Geoff Hogg says lockout laws no good for business
THE boss of Broadbeach’s casino site vows not to exploit a lockout law exemption, saying early-morning revellers won’t mix with guests starting their day.
Business
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JUPITERS Casino will not change its bar hours when new lockout laws come into effect because it does not want drunken nightclub revellers on its doorstep.
Freely admitting drunks and tourists do not mix, Star Entertainment Group Queensland managing director Geoff Hogg said claims the new laws would favour Jupiters were not true.
He said people who were in nightclubs between 3am and 5am were not the types the casino saw as its market.
Gold Coast bar and nightclub operators have complained the 3am last drinks call and next year’s new 1am lockout will create an unlevel playing field because casinos are exempt.
“We are not of the view it will be good for our business,” Mr Hogg said.
“The statement it is going to be is a perceived position put forward by others.
“We are not changing what we are doing — the customer base in the market from 3am to 5am is not our core,” Mr Hogg said.
“When people wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning as tourists in our 600 hotel rooms, you want those people to feel fresh and focused on the options we deliver at that time of the morning, like breakfast.
“So for us, having bars operating through to those times when people are waking up, is inconsistent.
“That’s why we already close the venues and they will continue with the same closing.
“We won’t be changing or expanding that because of lockout laws.”
Casino restaurants Cucina Vivo, Kiyomi and new Garden stop serving drinks at 1am while the Atrium bar cuts punters off at 3am.
The two gaming floor bars stop serving at 3am and 5.30am.
Mr Hogg’s vow comes two months out from when an existing 5am last drinks call at Coast nightclubs comes forward two hours, to 3am, on July 1.
It is among a raft of stiff new measures brought in by the Labor-led Government aimed at tackling alcohol-fuelled violence.
Other planks of the plan include a ban on shots after midnight and allowing police to breathalyse patrons to help shore up alleged cases of venues or staff breaching host responsibility rules.
The casino has been ahead of the game, voluntarily enforcing a no-shots rule for patrons at its venues for the past eight years.
The casino has previously admitted it will review security arrangements to deal with any expected influx of walk-ups after 3am.
SURFERS WILL BE ABANDONED FOR NEW DRINKING CAPITAL
Mr Hogg said with a planned new hotel and another 700 rooms for the site, it was critical to be seen as a safe venue.
Asked why casino venues were exempt from the stiff new lockout measures, Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said it was because casinos had heightened security, were highly regulated and had gaming as core business.
“Those regulations include requirements for key casino employees to be individually licensed, unlike pubs and clubs.”
Closing times at casino venues
• Jupiters’ venues outside the casino licensed area, Cucina Vivo, Kiyomi and Garden Kitchen & Bar, stop serving alcohol at 1am
• Atrium Bar stops serving alcohol at 3am.
• The two bars that service the main gaming floors stop serving alcohol at approximately 3am (the sports bar) and 5.30am (the J bar).
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