Gillon ready to rekindle V’landys rivalry; Crown chief’s London call

Sport administrators Gillon McLachlan and Peter V'Landys.

Not that it’s been formally ­announced, but what’s firming as a fait accompli is that Gillon ­McLachlan should be named chair of Racing Victoria some time soon, pending an 11th-hour snafu with the contract negotiations.

The only soul unlikely to rejoice at the news is Peter V’landys. He’s no fan of McLachlan (slightly intimidated by him, we hear). As everyone knows, the urbane former boss of the AFL has been courted for a panoply of roles since leaving the game last year.

One of which recently included the CEO position at Tabcorp, vacated by the potty-mouthed Adam Rytenskild. He resigned last month for apparently using “offensive” and “inappropriate” language in the workplace, according to the company. It hardly helped, ­either, that Rytenskild allegedly called one senior Tabcorp figure a “useless c..t”.

It’s the star power that clearly led to McLachlan being sized up for Tabcorp, even though he’s never run a listed company nor a television network (Sky Racing is owned by Tabcorp). With ­bonuses, he was in line for a salary in the order of $3m a year.

But it was not meant to be, Margin Call has learned.

McLachlan basically made it clear through back channels that he’s not in the market for a full-time job running operations, anywhere, and is pretty much hanging out for boardroom gigs. What he wants – like, really wants – is the chairmanship of Racing Victoria, and V’landys, the CEO of Racing NSW, supposedly has something to do with that, too.

Because landing the job would once again pit McLachlan against PVL – this time for horse racing supremacy.

Peter V'landys chairs rugby league but has a hands-on approach more akin to a CEO.

Their previous beef was over football. V’landys chairs Australian Rugby League and basically runs the NRL, even though it has a CEO (sorry, Andrew Abdo). As head of the AFL, McLachlan repeatedly clashed with V’landys, their rivalry almost as legendary and as bitter as that of Scar and Mufasa – and you can guess who played Scar.

They were tense times! Remember when the AFL decided to hold its 2020 grand final in Brisbane? V’landys publicly ridiculed the move and said ­McLachlan’s decision was akin to feeding meat to a vegetarian.

Or what about McLachlan’s speech at the AFL grand final two years later (in Melbourne) when he praised the code’s chair, Richard Goyder, for his “quiet leadership” of the game. “I guess all chairs of football codes across the country are the same,” McLachlan sighed, sarcastically, clearly sending a zinger at V’landys.

As for Tabcorp, former Sportsbet boss Cormac Barry is on the shortlist and being pushed by some investors (a fact revealed by DataRoom a fortnight ago) with Jason Scott, CEO of Racing Queensland, also said to be in the mix, among others. Tabcorp declined to comment.

London calling

Time to hit the panic button on Crown Resorts’ operations in London?

Directors and auditors of private gaming club Aspinalls, in Mayfair, have warned of material uncertainty with the venue and thrown a question mark over its ability to continue as a “going concern”.

Might that be why Crown’s CEO, Ciaran Carruthers, has been parachuted on to the club’s board? The venue recorded losses of $30m over the past three years and clearly he’ll need more than a mop and bucket to clean up this mess. He was appointed in February, way after joining some of Crown’s other subsidiaries as a formality last year.

Accounts lodged for FY23 reveal a net loss of £1.9m ($3.6m) at Aspinalls from a £6.9m loss the previous year.

Revenue grew to £12.2m, off £7.7m, but that was largely a result of overseas patrons returning post-Covid.

Still, a warning from directors on the venue’s ability to survive – especially without an injection of funds from its Australian parent. A letter of comfort has already been provided.

Ciaran Carruthers arriving at Lindsay Fox’s birthday bash last week.

Career casino executive Tony Boyd was lured out of retirement last year to join Crown UK as CEO and he was one director who pressed the going concern case, which was backed in by auditors at KPMG.

“There is a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” they wrote. “We concur with the directors’ assessment.”

No formal sale process of the business just yet but we are hearing Blackstone, the owner of Crown, wouldn’t be averse to unsolicited offers for the non-core assets; they can make an offer for the Capital Golf course in Melbourne’s Heatherton.

In better news, Crown Sydney has been deemed suitable to keep its casino licence, addressing one layer of uncertainty with the business. We sent questions regarding the future of Aspinalls but Crown declined to comment.

What Dan did next

Meanwhile, our spotting of Dan Andrews and continued speculation over his post-political life as a hand-greaser continues.

Earlier this month we wrote of the former premier’s advisory gig with low-budget Vietnamese airline Vietjet Air, an outfit he spent much time duchessing while in government.

Wedgetail Partners is the name of Andrews’ strategy caper, and it’s an enterprise he set up with former political adviser Marty Mei.

The latest there is that in March they quietly registered a fresh business name, Forty Eight and Partners, and perhaps that’s what the firm will finally be called once they actually hang out a shingle. There’s not even a website yet.

Until then, we’re left with mere hints and curiosities of what this quirky pair are doing abroad. Earlier this month Andrews was spotted at the Boao Forum in China with Fortescue Metals billionaire Andrew Forrest. There, too, was Team Global Express CEO Christine Holgate and Allegro chair Adrian Loader.

No telling what Andrews was doing at the session for national business leaders (he is not one), but his presence in China is sure to pique the interest of his detractors. Is it that Forty Eight and Partners might be looking for work?

It was Mei who advised Andrews on Victoria’s Belt and Road Initiative with Beijing, the BRI having later been scrapped, of course, by Scott Morrison.