Former Star casino boss Robbie Cooke ’was targeted’ by regulator

Ousted Star Entertainment casino group boss Robbie Cooke first offered his resignation to the casino’s board months before he eventually resigned amid suspicions his position was untenable due to pressure from the NSW casino regulator.

Former Star Casino chief executive Robbie Cooke. Picture: David Clark

Ousted Star Entertainment casino group boss Robbie Cooke first offered his resignation to the casino’s board months before he eventually resigned amid suspicions his position was untenable due to pressure from the NSW casino regulator.

The Weekend Australian can reveal a bombshell report was sent to The Star’s board on November 24 with the damning conclusion the embattled casino operator had fallen behind as it sought to urgently resolve scandals including illegal junket cash cages and secret gambling rooms.

A NSW government meeting would later seal The Star’s fate. Those at the meeting, including NSW Gaming Minister David Harris and NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey on February 7, walked away with the belief that NSW Independent Casino Commission chief Philip Crawford would not restore The Star’s licences while Mr Cooke remained at the helm.

The initial confidential 50-page progress report was written by independent NSW-appointed manager Nick Weeks. But it sought to sideline more than 20 remedial actions already undertaken by The Star as it attempted to rescue its Sydney and Brisbane casinos.

Mr Cooke, fearful it would be used to strip the casino of its licence, later offered to step down amid fears Mr Crawford would use a more widely circulated condensed version to remove him and members of his executive team.

The Star board, led by David Foster, instructed Mr Cooke to remain in the role, asserting it would be damaging for him to leave barely 12 months after being appointed as chief executive to fix a string of cultural and regulatory problems.

However, the tone of the confidential report put Mr Cooke and his team on alert that they were on borrowed time to fix Star’s problem, multiple sources told The Weekend Australian.

David Foster.

NICC Commissioner Philip Crawford. Picture: Sue Graham

More broadly, there was concern over the immense power the NSW gambling regulator led by Mr Crawford had assumed and a breakdown in the path ahead for remediating The Star’s problems.

Over the Christmas break, Mr Cooke spent days responding to the report with a line-by-line rebuttal highlighting process and factual errors, which was sent to Mr Crawford and the NSW Independent Casino Commission.

By early February, the writing was on the wall.

Mr Crawford met with Mr Harris and Mr Mookhey on February 7 and the casino regulator revealed a further bombshell: the launch of a new independent inquiry – dubbed Bell 2 in a nod to Sydney barrister Adam Bell SC, who will lead the probe.

The implications for The Star were seismic: Bell 2 had the potential to topple it for good if major cultural issues were not fixed.

Mr Bell, to be paid $525,000 for the 15-week probe, had overseen the initial inquiry into The Star two years ago that uncovered its links with criminal elements through the so-called junket trade. The Bell 2 inquiry will kick off on Monday with a string of former Star executives called to testify.

Mr Harris declined to comment on what was discussed at the meeting with Mr Crawford.

A spokeswoman for Mr Crawford said it would not be appropriate to discuss events that occurred while the Bell inquiry was under way, or discuss individuals who have recently left The Star.

Then, 12 days later, Mr Crawford notified The Star that he had ordered a second independent review of its suitability, and Mr Bell would again lead it. When it informed the market a second probe was under way, its share price fell 20 per cent in moments.

Four weeks after being informed of Bell 2, Mr Cooke, chief of staff Peter Jenkins and head of customer relations George Hughes were told they would have to leave for the casino to have any chance of getting its licence back.

On March 22, the sword landed and Mr Cooke sent out an emotional memo to staff that evening announcing his resignation and taking a thinly veiled swipe at Mr Crawford, the man he felt was out to destroy the casino’s exhaustive rehabilitation efforts. His statement said “a change in leadership provides the best opportunity for the business “to navigate the regulatory pressure it is facing”.

Investors were shocked by the fall of Mr Cooke, a seasoned chief executive and former boss of Queensland gaming group Tatts and fintech Tyro, part-way through a major turnaround. “He has a very, very strong reputation and is known to be able to drive cultural change,” said one senior banker turned director who has worked closely with him.

Those inside the casino believe if Mr Crawford continues on this path he will tear down The Star.

They say a sign of this is the NICC dragging out the approval of its remediation blueprint.

For almost 20 months it has been sitting on the plan The Star submitted outlining hundreds of cultural and governance changes needed. The Star has been quietly pushing ahead with the complex program, but officially hasn’t even been given the green light to move to the reform starting line.

Queensland approved a remediation plan late last year.