Powerful Star casino monitor ‘passed over for top job’

The independent manager who now holds the fate of Star’s NSW licence had previously eyed a top executive job with the casino.

Star operates Brisbane’s casino, which will be reopened this year as part of a $3bn redevelopment of Queen’s Wharf.

The former NRL executive installed by the NSW casino regulator as a powerful independent manager at Star Entertainment had been about to sign on as a senior executive at the same casino just months earlier.

Nick Weeks, the special manager who is essentially holding Star’s NSW casino licence while the company tries to prove it has overhauled its ways, had been in final talks to take on the job as chief operating officer of Star’s Sydney casino, multiple sources have told The Australian.

However, the mass exit of the Star board and management following the release of the report by Adam Bell SC into the Star’s suitability to hold a licence brought to a halt Star’s negotiations with Mr Weeks. It is understood the talks did not resume.

Mr Weeks, a one time chief operating officer and integrity executive with the NRL, had just finished up a 12-month contract with Melbourne’s Crown Resorts in a senior transformational role when talks began with Star in early 2022.

Nick Weeks is the former NRL chief operating officer. Picture: AAP

Like Star, Crown was facing massive upheaval after it was found to have been sidestepping anti-money laundering rules as it chased the global junket market.

It is understood that after the Crown role ended in April 2022, Mr Weeks began talks with Star Entertainment for the position of Sydney CEO. However, those talks ended abruptly when Star chairman John O’Neill resigned in late May. Mr O’Neill had stepped into the role following the exit of former Star boss Matt Bekier. Mr Weeks then became a director of a boutique consultancy founded by Wexted Advisory, co-founded by high-profile insolvency partner Joseph Hayes.

Months after joining Wexted, the NSW Independent Casino Commission headed by Philip Crawford appointed Mr Weeks as the manager of The Star Sydney to oversee the operations of the casino and provide the regulator with an update on its efforts to get its licence back. The Bell inquiry into Star found the casino’s senior management had turned a blind eye to the money-laundering risks and had potentially misled regulators over the extent of the junket trade. Star has consistently accepted the findings and acknowledged the need to lift its standards.

Wexted did not respond to a request to comment.

Mr Weeks could not be reached for comment.

The casino regulator is understood to have initially allowed Star to select its own independent monitor to oversee the reform efforts. Star had named international law firm Allen & Overy. However, shortly after, the NICC moved to install Mr Weeks directly into the oversight role.

His position pays $75,000 a month, or $900,000 annually, documents show.

At the time of the appointment, the NICC said the independent manager “will have full control of and responsibility for the Sydney casino business”.

The manager would hold Star’s Sydney licence and supervise the casino’s efforts in remediation.

Mr Weeks was later selected by Queensland’s gaming regulator for a monitoring role at Star‘s Brisbane and Gold Coast casinos. This position is also understood to be paid $75,000 a month.

Star Entertainment boss Robbie Cooke resigned in March. Picture: David Clark

An NICC spokeswoman said Wexted was an approved government supplier and no conflicts were raised between Wexted and Star at the time of the appointment. One NICC commissioner – Murray Smith – declared that he had a past professional relationship with Wexted’s Mr Hayes.

The declaration was recorded, and Mr Smith did not participate in the selection or ongoing monitoring of Wexted, the spokeswoman said.

The NICC has extended Mr Weeks’ appointment three times, with the current term set to expire at the end of September. While Mr Weeks works directly for Star in the capacity of independent manager, it is understood he employs as many as five staff members in his team, although only one is contracted from Wexted. Star is being invoiced directly for the staffers.

Last October, Mr Weeks prepared a report for the NSW regulator that was highly critical of Star’s reform efforts and claimed new CEO Robbie Cooke had been moving too slow in some areas. Mr Cooke was understood to have prepared a detailed rebuttal of the Weeks’ report which is understood to have raised tensions between Star, the NICC and its chief commissioner Mr Crawford.

In February, Mr Crawford stunned Star’s board and investors and some NSW ministers by declaring he intended to hold another inquiry and had selected Adam Bell to oversee the probe again. Mr Crawford said the NICC “was not satisfied The Star was progressing its remediation in a timely fashion”.

The so-called Bell Two inquiry is scheduled to begin on Monday, with Mr Weeks among the first to present evidence.

Last month Mr Cooke resigned and in a statement said he had reached the conclusion that his continuing as group CEO “is not going to be conducive to the NICC determining to find The Star capable of becoming suitable to hold a casino licence in NSW”.

An NICC spokeswoman said the Bell Two inquiry will provide the commission with the information needed to make an important decision for The Star, its employees, its stakeholders, and the wider community.

“There is much at stake for The Star, so the NICC is giving the casino every chance it can to demonstrate whether it has the capacity and competence to achieve suitability,” she said.

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Originally published as Powerful Star casino monitor ‘passed over for top job’