Robbie Cooke to start work as Star Entertainment’s CEO on October 17

After nearly a three-month wait, Robbie Cooke will finally get behind the desk at the troubled casino group on Monday where it is hoped he can restore its fortunes.

Star Entertainment’s new chief executive Robbie Cooke will start work at the troubled casino group on Monday, following a two-week break from his previous employer, Tyro Payments.

The commencement of Mr Cooke’s employment at Star comes despite being yet to receive the necessary approvals from the NSW casino regulator.

In a statement to the ASX, the company said on Thursday that Mr Cooke’s regulatory approvals were pending in NSW – where Star is fighting to maintain its casino licence.

This means executive chairman Ben Heap will “retain responsibility for certain decisions that require NSW close associate status” until Mr Cooke obtains regulatory approval.

But in the main, from Monday Mr Heap will return to his non-executive role, while in Queensland Mr Cooke will have full leadership authority, with the state already granting him full regulators approval.

Robbie Cooke will take the helm of Star Entertainment on Monday. Picture: Ric Frearson/AAP

Star announced Mr Cooke would join the company in June after Matt Bekier resigned in late March – days after the public hearings of a royal commission-style inquiry began.

That inquiry, headed by Adam Bell SC, ruled Star was unfit to hold a NSW casino licence after it found the company had set up an “inherently deceptive and unethical process” ­disguising more than $900m as hotel expenses to allow wealthy Chinese gamblers to bet at the ­venues, failed to check the source of the money ­ – and knew for years it was in breach of the rules.

Meanwhile, instead of shutting down junkets bringing in major overseas gamblers, as Star should have, the Bell report found it allowed them to continue to operate – “a collective decision by the senior management … which reflected a culture in which business goals were given undue priority over regulatory and money laundering and terrorism financing risks”.

A separate inquiry in Queensland has also found Star unfit to hold a casino licence in the state, after revealing the company not only allowed, but paid, for patrons banned in NSW to travel to its Brisbane and Gold Coast casinos to gamble, showing a “lively disregard for the law”.

The two inquiries have led to most of the company’s senior leadership resigning, with acting chief executive and long-term Queensland boss Geoff Hogg quitting late last month.

Star executive chairman Ben Heap will “retain responsibility for certain decisions that require NSW ‘close associate states” until Mr Cooke obtains NSW regulatory approval.

Other departures from Star include departures from Star, including former chief executive Matt Bekier, chief financial officer Harry Theodore, chief legal and risk officer Paula Martin and chief casino officer Greg Hawkins.

Star is now betting on Cooke to lead its turnaround, saying he can “restore confidence” in the group.

Mr Cooke finished at Tyro Payments, an ASX-listed EFTPOS terminals provider, on October 3. When he announced Mr Cooke’s appointment, Mr Heap said: “Robbie is a trusted, respected and highly experienced chief executive”.

“He has been the CEO of major ASX 200 listed companies and brings extensive commercial experience in operating and driving transformation programs within highly regulated environments, overseeing large workforces and building executive teams in multi-jurisdictional locations,” Mr Heap said at the time.

Mr Cooke led Wotif for seven years before travel booking company Expedia acquired the group for $700m in 2014. He moved to Tatts where he spent three years running its lotteries, wagering and gaming division before Tabcorp acquired the company in 2017.

Earlier this year, The Australian’s DataRoom column reported that some Star shareholders had made approaches to prospective suitors of the $2.45bn listed casino operator, offering up their holdings in what some believe is a sign that the company is a takeover target.

Australian gaming companies have attracted interest from various overseas parties, with US private equity titan Blackstone taking over Star’s bigger rival Crown for $8.9bn in June, ending James Packer’s involvement with the company.

Mr Cooke will be paid $1.6m a year, and another $1.6m as a sign-on incentive via an “additional grant of performance share rights”.

He will also be eligible for a bonus of up to $960,000 under Star’s short-term incentive plan, and another $1.6m in performance rights as part of the company’s long-term incentive plan.

“In the event within the three-year performance period Mr Cooke’s employment is terminated without cause or there is a change of control event that results in a substantial diminution to Mr Cooke’s role, the performance share rights will automatically vest (or cash equivalent paid, as applicable),” Star said.