Star Entertainment plays its last card ahead of Sydney licence verdict

Star Entertainment has played what must be its last card ahead of the NSW casino regulator’s decision on whether it keeps its crucial Sydney licence.

On Monday, Robbie Cooke walks into the Star offices, his first day as the new chief executive – some two and half months ahead of schedule.

This could be a critical factor for the man making the decision, Independent Casino Commission chief commissioner Philip Crawford. One of his strongest criticisms of the besmirched casino operator was that there was no sense of urgency in the place.

“I’m afraid the cultural, institutional arrogance has not changed very much,” Crawford said in September as he issued a demand the company explain why it should not be stripped of its licence. “Importantly with this company, they need a fresh set of eyes. They have 14 days to do it.”

News of Cooke’s earlier arrival comes ahead of a second show cause notice in Queensland, following the findings of a review undertaken by former Appeal Court judge Robert Gotterson.

As flagged in The Australian in September – when Star responded to Crawford’s show cause notice – the optics of Cooke not being on board to lead the company until Christmas was bad.

Cooke stepped down as chief executive of Tyro on October 3 but had agreed to stay on as managing director and advisor until year end.

However, he has somehow convinced the board of payments company Tyro, chaired by ex-Telstra boss David Thodey, to agree to his early release – no mean feat given Tyro is a takeover target.

“It’s good news, I’m very keen to get in the seat,” Cooke, who was appointed by the Star board in June, tells The Australian.

Robbie Cooke is committed to a path of rehabilitation. Picture: Ric Frearson

“I’m bringing it forward two and a half months so I think it works well for everybody.”

Without Cooke on board, Ben Heap who was thrust into the role of Star’s chairman in June replacing the outgoing John O’Neill, was the stop gap to lead the business. He became interim executive chairman on 28 September. The former head of UBS Asset Management must be more than relieved at Cooke’s arrival.

Cooke is at pains to stress any decision of the regulator cannot be pre-empted. “There is a wide range of things that could happen from penalties to suspension or cancellation or a combination of those,” he says, acknowledging what he calls the confronting issues identified by the Bell review into Star Sydney and the Gotterson review on an equally shocking corporate failure in Queensland.

“We definitely lost our way in a number of areas. The company stared into that, accepted those issues and is committed to a path of rehabilitation,” he says.

“I know I have a big job to do. These businesses are licences that you get which are a privilege to operate and you have to operate to the highest level. I’ve run these businesses before.

“I know what needs to be done. My commitment to our regulators is that I have got to put every ounce of my energy into getting this done and done right. That is what I’m looking to do when I get in the seat next Monday.”

Star’s response to Crawford’s show cause notice was to announce the departure of interim chief executive Geoff Hogg – who the regulator had named and shamed as the man running Star’s Queensland operations while a gambler banned from Sydney was free to gamble in there.

Four other executive departures brought the total to 20.

The company has contracted PwC and Deloitte to increase its headcount by 53 – fresh eyes in safer gambling, financial crime, risk and compliance. And a new independent monitor, Allen and Overy will report publicly.

In Cooke’s absence, Scott Wharton – recently hired from the Commonwealth Bank where he led the response to the bank’s damning prudential regulator inquiry – took charge of the response. Crawford acknowledged him as “a very good person ... doing the best he can”.

Cooke says Star now has three new board members and has put Wharton in as CEO of the company’s Sydney operations. It has separated legal, risk and company secretary functions and has a new chief risk officer, a new company secretary and a new general manager of compliance.

But he acknowledges remediation – not renewal as Star had previously described it with tin ear – is a work in progress.

“I like working very openly with our regulators, very openly with the team and having a culture where people feel safe that they can call out issue,” he says.

Whether Cooke’s leadership from Monday moves the dial with Crawford remains to be seen. After all the hubris, the new chief executive needs to be nothing less than sophrosyne.