US casino mogul keen to retain Star’s Queen’s Wharf

Bally’s boss Soo Kim is exploring options to remain involved in Star’s prized Queen’s Wharf casino precinct as either owner or operator.

Star Entertainment’s Queen's Wharf precinct. Picture: Steve Pohlner

US casino mogul Soo Kim is exploring options to remain involved in Star Entertainment’s prized Queen’s Wharf casino precinct in Brisbane as either owner or operator.

It comes as NSW regulators have already started the probity process that will see Mr Kim’s Bally’s Corp become the biggest shareholder in troubled Star with a $300m buyout offer.

Mr Kim told The Australian that he would prefer to retain control of Queen’s Wharf despite a previously signed deal to offload the brand new property to Star’s Hong Kong consortium partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium.

Star’s current chief executive Steve McCann made the deal last month as part of a desperate bid to raise cash and jettison debt to avoid a total collapse.

Mr Kim revealed that if the Queen’s Wharf sale did proceed, Bally’s had already had talks with the partners about the US operator continuing to manage on their behalf the expansive $3.6bn integrated resort on the edge of the Brisbane River.

“While we acknowledge that the agreement exists, we also think that it’s better (for all the company’s assets) to be kept together and it’s better to be managed together,” Mr Kim said.

“So I think that there are three possibilities. One is that the deal goes through as contemplated and they pick another manager. Two is that the deal goes through as contemplated and we regain the management of the Star (at Queen’s Wharf). And three, the deal doesn’t go through, and therefore we’re still running it.

“Until the deal does go through we plan to run it and do as good a job as we can.”

Bally’s Corp chairman Soo Kim.

NSW Independent Casino Commission chief commissioner Philip Crawford said that with the assistance from Liquor & Gaming NSW, the probity assessment of Bally’s had started.

It is understood the timing for completion of the assessment would ultimately depend on the complexity of Bally’s corporate structure and the pace at which the company engages with requests for ­information.

Bally’s is seen as a relatively safe bet for regulators in both NSW and Queensland, given its track record of running a string of casinos in the US, where the regulatory controls are considered tougher than Australia’s.

Chow Tai Fook has been under the regulatory spotlight, with its links to a notorious Macau gambling identity Alvin Chau, who has since been sentenced to 18 years in jail, the subject of an inquiry in Queensland.

CTFE was forced to quietly apologise to Queensland regulators in late 2023 for “inadvertently” concealing the company’s relationship with Chau, to avoid being deemed unsuitable to hold a casino licence.

Mr Kim cautioned that he did not have a full understanding of the complex transaction for the Hong Kong companies to acquire Star’s 50 per cent interest in Queen’s Wharf.

“In the conversation that we had with the consortium folks, we told them that, hey we don’t know each other,” said Mr Kim.

“We’re coming into a situation, but we think that we are the best qualified to manage the assets.

“Obviously the company is going to honour its agreements, and if it ends up the agreement is fine, we’ll accept that.

“But, if something happens, like some condition precedent doesn’t get met, or if they are willing to allow us to continue to manage it, we’d be happy to do that as well.”

Mr Kim said he had ideas about how to improve Queen’s Wharf, which opened last year two years behind schedule and with significant cost overruns.

He said in its current form the precinct was unlikely to reach its full potential.

“It’s a little hard for me to talk about what those ideas are because I don’t know whether I’ll be owning it or managing,” he said. “Obviously, if I knew for sure, I’ll tell you what my ideas are, but I don’t know, so I’d rather not.”

He said Queen’s Wharf was “an amazing asset” and with the right decisions would be a top ­performer.

Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Deb Frecklington sid the deal would require regulatory approval by both the Queensland and New South Wales governments.

She said the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation had commenced working jointly with the New South Wales casino regulator and Bally’s to “progress the necessary probity and suitability investigations to inform the decisions of the respective governments”.

Originally published as US casino mogul keen to retain Star’s Queen’s Wharf