Leading Asian junket operator Suncity Group has confirmed it will shut down its Australian fixed VIP clubs at Crown Melbourne and The Star Sydney.
The Age newspaper reported on Friday that Star Entertainment Group had reached an agreement with Suncity “in the last 10 days” to close its Sydney high-roller room with Star Managing Director and CEO Matt Bekier quoted as saying, “The fixed room of Suncity will be discontinued here. They had a small fixed room – that room is being closed.”
The media outlet said it had learnt via sources that Suncity would also close down its VIP Club at Crown Melbourne following recent allegations that the junket operator’s CEO, Alvin Chau, had been barred from entering Australia by the Department of Home Affairs.
Speaking to Inside Asian Gaming over the weekend, a Suncity Group spokesman confirmed that the rooms would be closed but said it was “a commercial decision due to lack of demand and high operation costs in Australia.”
While Suncity is reducing its Australian presence, the company has been busy elsewhere with a number of new and expanded VIP Clubs opening in recent months.
They include the launch of its Resorts World Manila club last week – adding to existing operations at Solaire, Okada Manila and City of Dreams Manila – two new Cambodian VIP Clubs at at NagaWorld in Phnom Penh and in Sihanoukville, an expanded space at Macau’s StarWorld and a new Macau location at the Rio Hotel and Casino.
