By Amelia McGuire
The chief executive of one of The Star’s three casino precincts has quit following four days of hearings into the group’s culture which have unearthed allegations about the way business is still being conducted at the struggling casino group.
Jessica Mellor, the boss of The Star Gold Coast, tendered her resignation to the board late on Thursday. She was appointed to the position six months ago and is set to step down on May 24. The precinct’s general manager of gaming, Ian Brown, will be her interim replacement.
Jessica Mellor was appointed CEO of The Star Gold Coast six months ago. She quit on Thursday, Credit: Paul Harris
The broader company is in the midst of appearing before its second inquiry in NSW following concerns from the state casino regulator, which is due to determine in a matter of months whether Star should keep operating its Pyrmont casino. Adam Bell, SC, has been engaged for a second time in 18 months to conduct the probe into The Star.
Mellor was one of a number of executives who was promoted after holding a senior leadership position in 2022, when Adam Bell found the group had committed extensive anti-money laundering and counterterrorism breaches. The NSW Independent Casino Commission has made it clear the retention and promotion of executives since the first inquiry is one of its main concerns about The Star’s culture. Most of these executives have quit since the second inquiry was announced last month.
In the latest bout of hearings into the business the company has been accused of falsifying mandatory welfare checks on poker machine players, failing to stop $3.2 million in cash going to gamblers who detected a fault in a gaming machine during a six-week period, and forming a plot to then misconstrue that loss in the company’s half-yearly results in February.
Former chief executive officer Robbie Cooke – who quit last month – has also been accused of failing to be transparent about the group’s debt exposure and earnings position with the broader executive team. Meanwhile, executive chair David Foster has been accused of proposing a class action against the NSW casino regulator and special manager Nicholas Weeks.
But not all have been put off by the allegations. Pubs baron Bruce Mathieson has increased his stake in Star Entertainment Group for a second time in a couple of months.
Mathieson’s family company now holds almost 10 per cent of the group after spending $18.46 million to purchase more than 40 million extra shares over the past week. The Star said on Thursday it may prohibit anyone from owning more than 10 per cent of the group under its constitution and regulations in Queensland and NSW.
On Thursday, the inquiry was told the company had grown to resent the presence of the NSW Independent Casino Commission and Weeks, and was revealed to have sacked seven employees after the company was told they had failed to complete welfare checks on customers who had played the pokies for more than three hours.
Managing Values principal Dr Attracta Lagan – who has worked with The Star as a business ethics consultant – told the hearing the group did not recognise the authority of the regulator and often operated as if the regulator was “out to get them” instead of trying to work with them.
Lagan, who also worked with Crown Resorts during the early stages of its remediation, said the management of The Star never attempted to impress upon staff that the regulator was trying to work with them and protect their jobs.
Pubs baron Bruce Mathieson has raised his stake in Star Entertainment Group.Credit: Arsineh Houspian
“They didn’t realise how that worked and there was resentment sometimes to the directions that we were giving,” she said.
The boss of the division that falsified the welfare checks on patrons, Ronald Wagemans, said his staff were trained on safer gambling by being directed to read a 12-15 page booklet during their shift.
He told the inquiry that five people had so far lost their jobs after Liquor and Gaming NSW first raised the compliance breakdown with the company. He conceded the company did not have enough customer support officers to properly oversee its patrons after the inquiry heard there were often two officers rostered on to police 1600 machines.
“We had a problem with resources. That may have encouraged them to take shortcuts,” he said.
He denied he handed in his resignation on Monday in light of the inquiry revelations and said he had been thinking of retiring for at least six months because he no longer enjoyed his job.
“It really wasn’t a joy coming to work any more to be honest,” Wagemans said.
The share price of the struggling casino group rallied 1 per cent today to 42¢, but it’s slumped 20 per cent since the inquiry began on Monday.
Read more:
- Four ways the cards could fall for Star Sydney
- Why do casinos get so many get out of jail free cards?
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.