Tradies demand footy tipping payout from Clive Palmer’s resort

A Sunshine Coast tradie is hoping he will see $1200 in cash again, collected for a footy tipping group who worked at the Palmer Coolum Resort before a sacking earlier this year.

A Sunshine Coast tradie is asking what’s the bet his footy tipping group will get $1200 in cash back from the Palmer Coolum Resort following a sacking earlier this year.

A group of tradies who had footy tipping money in a safe in a high-profile Sunshine Coast resort they were working at want their cash back now the NRL season is over.

Tradesman Steve Ruscoe worked at the Palmer Coolum Resort for nearly two years before receiving a termination letter in August.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer announced the $100m refurbishment of the resort in 2021 after he closed it in 2015.

At the time of the termination, a group of tradies were forced to collect their tools under police escort at the Yaroomba resort and some of the workers received a letter offering to reapply.

Mr Ruscoe, however, collected his tools and left without about $1200 cash collected from a group of about 24 tradies for a footy tipping competition.

Yaroomba bricklayer Steve Ruscoe is hoping to get back $1200 in footy tipping money he and other tradies left at the Palmer Coolum Resort following an August sacking. Picture: Contributed

The Yaroomba man said the money was kept in a safe at the resort with names of those in the NRL tipping competition.

Mr Ruscoe said he was told the money was under investigation.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer. Picture: Glenn Campbell

At the time, the termination letter – sighted by this publication – stated the sacking was due to staff not abiding by new shift hours.

The letter also stated a fraud, theft and dishonesty investigation was underway.

“We said ‘well okay, all right’,” Mr Ruscoe said.

“We left it for a bit and I actually spoke to one of the supervisors who was there at the time.”

The 52-year-old bricklayer said the group decided to wait until the NRL season was over before trying again to get the money back.

The season finished in early October.

“We left it until after the season finished, we thought maybe they’d come to the party,” Mr Ruscoe said.

The bricklayer said he had tried to phone, email, text and had left messages about it.

“It’s the principle of it,” Mr Ruscoe said.

There is no suggestion Mr Palmer or any of Mr Palmer’s representatives, or Palmer Coolum Resort, have engaged in any wrongdoing.

Mr Palmer’s media representative along with the resort have been contacted for comment.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said she did not believe the matter had been reported to police.

Originally published as Tradies demand footy tipping payout from Clive Palmer’s resort