Gold Coast development: The Star boss calls for certainty over second casino
Pressure is growing on the State Government to make a decision on the future of a proposed second Gold Coast casino, with a $2b project hanging in the balance.
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PRESSURE is growing on the State Government to make a decision on the future of a proposed second Gold Coast casino.
Rival casino operator Star has warned it needs “certainty” to continue with its $2 billion masterplan for Broadbeach.
Star Queensland managing director Geoff Hogg, speaking at a Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce lunch yesterday, talked up his company’s multi-tower development.
But he warned that “certainty’’ was needed around the proposed development, which has been the subject of an expressions of interest campaign.
“The local market won’t grow if you put another supplier in, it just shares it around,” he said.
“The growth of the pie comes from tourists.
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“But if our competitors are down the road, our focus will be on them, not growing tourism.
“I’ll be honest, the noise around a second casino does slow you down and hopefully at some point we get some certainty off the back of that.”
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Mr Hogg said Star was committed to building its next two towers, together worth more than $900 million.
Construction had already begun on one of them — a $400 million development which will include the Dorsett Hotel and The Star Residences.
“In our headspace it is us versus Melbourne, us versus Perth, us versus Auckland.
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“Do you really want it to be us to be competing against Southport?
“Do you want Queens Wharf’s biggest competitor to be the Gold Coast’s second casino?
“We are getting to the point where we do need some certainty to keep charging ahead.’’
Mr Hogg’s comments came just a week after a global icon in gaming resorts pulled out of the race to develop any second casino here.
Caesars withdrew from the process after considering bidding for the development for more than two years.
It is understood a dozen players including American and Asian firms have registered interest after the State Government opened an invitation to develop a Gold Coast global tourism hub.
Entertainment and gaming giant Hard Rock has also been courting the State Government for the second casino licence.
LNP leader Deb Frecklington called on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to rule out any subsidies for the second casino.
“Foreign companies worth billions should not receive a cent of hard-earned taxpayers’ money to cover up Labor’s incompetency,” she said.
“Not only should Labor guarantee a second casino operator won’t receive billions from Queensland taxpayers, Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to ensure these multinationals pay their fair share for the land, infrastructure charges and the same taxes and fees every other Queensland business pays.
“I don’t believe in giving billions in taxpayers’ money to private enterprise to help their projects stack up.”
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