Star’s let-off in Sydney last week doesn’t change one harsh fact:it is still running out of money and the next year remains a brutal one.
Star Casino has been hit with a $15 million fine by the casino regulator,with the licence suspension extended until March next year.
The Sydney casino is worth less than its chief executive Steve McCann’s first-year pay cheque of $10 million,based on the report authored by Barrenjoey’s Matt Ryan.
The Star’s long-suffering investors have responded to the group’s $1.7 billion loss by sending the share price to just 25¢.
The ailing casino operator finally delivered its full-year results on Thursday,after snagging a last-ditch $200 million loan from its banks.
It is now so dependent on regulators and lenders that Star’s fortunes are largely outside its control.
Two men including a Star employee have been charged over a scheme to rig bets in games at the embattled casino.
Singaporean gambling baron Yew Choy Wong signed a blank cheque. But when The Star casino staff tried to cash that cheque for $43m at a National Australia Bank branch on the Gold Coast,it bounced.
The university,which paid $67.5m for the heritage-listed building,plans to transform it into “a state-of-the-art educational environment” by 2027.
Chow Tai Fook Enterprises approached the NSW casino regulator about taking a major stake in the casino,but pulled out after learning about probity checks.
The family that took legal action to suppress a report into Star’s suitability to hold a casino licence has a long history of escaping scrutiny.