It's also agreed to a $300 million rescue package with US casino giant Bally's, which would take a majority stake in Star. Star's now on the verge of losing its shirt, poised to unload its half of the gleaming new Brisbane casino to its Chinese partners in a bid to stave off financial ruin. But in 2018, Star was turning a blind eye to Suncity running bags of cash through a VIP room in its Sydney casino. One Chinese high roller and suspected money launderer used it to access more than $100 million. "NAB's exact comment was, 'That makes for a very expensive hotel room,'" a cashier manager told casino executives in an email.
Bates was quizzed during Wednesday’s budget estimates hearings by Queensland shadow treasurer Shannon Fentiman about her role in negotiations around the financial position of Queen’s Wharf. Star is also awaiting the outcome of a court decision on fines for breaches of anti-money-laundering regulations that is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But if the groups fail to reach an agreement by Friday, Star will be forced to repay more than $36 million to its consortium partners by September. Star also flagged that it is unlikely to finalise a deal to sell its share of Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf casino to its consortium partners – Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium – by the July 31 deadline. Star’s quarterly report, which precedes audited financial accounts due next month, states that it made a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation costs of $27 million for the quarter ending June 30, on revenue of $270 million.
In his interview with the regulator in November 2023, Chow Tai Fook chairman Henry Cheng denied the conglomerate was "financing the Vietnam project" — rather it had given personal loans to friends. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun, holds a souvenir during the trading debut of the company at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange December 15, 2011. A senior Chow Tai Fook executive did that for them, and was able to arrange funding without their involvement. When he died in 2018, Chow Tai Fook bought back his stake and sold it to one of its finance managers. First phase of the resort project by Suncity is under construction near the beach coastline of Hoiana, Vietnam March 26, 2018. It distanced itself from the Hoiana casino the next year, but maintained a hidden involvement it repeatedly and falsely denied. Cheng said the deal wasn't going ahead because of Suncity's poor finances — not because due diligence had uncovered anything shady about Chau.
When Star announced the Brisbane deal in March, it helped the casino operator avoid financial collapse, with the consortium partners offering to pay $53 million for Star’s 50 per cent share. The parties are renegotiating the deal after the Asian partners threatened to walk away from the March agreement. If you need assistance navigating cash flow or insolvency issues for your business, please contact one of our experienced insolvency lawyers.Author - Erin Prout is a Principal Lawyer specialising in insolvency and litigation and is based in Aitken Partners Brisbane office.
"Delays and ongoing costs during construction meant it was sucking cash, not generating it, at a time when Star was already struggling with regulatory fallout and falling revenue." In all, the casino, four hotels, retail venues and restaurant spaces would cost an estimated $3.6 billion — Queensland's biggest ever infrastructure project. Brisbane's resort and casino precinct Queen's Wharf opened in August 2024 but faced financial woes before and after. Colin Kruger is a senior business reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
The Queensland government has indicated it wants a casino to continue operating at Queen's Wharf but won't offer financial support or concessions to Star. "If a massive AUSTRAC fine, or the ongoing Queen's Wharf financial burden, renders Star insolvent, Bally's may pull out, leaving Star almost certainly facing administration." Reaching a deal, Mr Hughes said, is of "existential" importance to Star. On Monday, the company notified the ASX that the deadline for termination has now been extended to July 31st. But just when things appeared to be improving for Star, their joint venture partners suddenly announced they were terminating the agreement to buy Queen's Wharf, effective July 7.
The cashcards — in line with a crackdown from Beijing on overseas gambling — were not meant to fund casino splurges. A guest with a China Union Pay cashcard made an unusually large withdrawal via EFTPOS at the casino hotel. At Star's old Brisbane casino, a gambler from Asia with a million dollars in cash was a rare sight, a former insider says.
Queensland regulators believed Hong Kong tycoon Cheng Yu Tung, pictured here in 2011, was too elderly to have any influence on his family's involvement in the Brisbane casino. He was barred from any involvement in the Brisbane venture — and died the following year. Had that happened, Suncity would "likely have had a significant involvement in the introduction of international VIP players" to Brisbane, according to the OLGR. The business partnership which saved Donald Trump's career was forged in a failed Australian casino bid. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, controlled by Hong Kong's Cheng family, is a jewellery and property empire with "vast financial resources", according to Queensland's Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation OLGR.
The deal would also relieve Star of financial commitments to invest more money into the Brisbane business, and all debts related to the project. Just a few days later, Star reached a deal with US casino giant Bally's for at least $250 million in exchange for a controlling stake in the company. "A buyer would have to be comfortable with a company in Star's circumstances to be a joint landlord and take the risk of default under the agreement." In March, desperate for money to stave off insolvency, Star agreed to sell its 50 per cent stake in Queen's Wharf to its joint venture partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium for $53 million. In January this year, the company told the ASX it had just $79 million left in available cash and had burned through $70 million since the end of September. By the time its new Brisbane casino opened on August 29, 2024, that had plummeted to 57 cents a share, making it difficult for the company to raise funds and keep its new business operating.