In this regular feature in IAG to celebrate 20 years covering the Asian gaming and leisure industry, we look back at our cover story from exactly 10 years ago, “Brisbane picks a winner”, to rediscover what was making the news in August 2015!
The irony did not go unnoticed when, just a few days after Australia’s Star Entertainment Group revealed its Hong Kong partners had pulled out of a deal to acquire its 50% stake in Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, we sat down to pen our monthly “10 years ago” article only to discover our August 2015 cover story happened to be all about this very development.
Titled “Brisbane picks a winner”, our deep dive feature from a decade ago delved into the Queensland state government’s decision to award the near AU$4 billion Queen’s Wharf contract to Star – then known as Echo Entertainment – and what this would mean for the company going forward.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
John O’Neill, the former chairman of Echo and later Star following its rebranding in late 2015, described the project at the time as “potentially transformational for both Brisbane and Echo Entertainment”.
And it was notable on multiple fronts. For one, it denied domestic rival Crown Resorts – which at that stage controlled a 56% share of Australia’s casino revenues versus Echo’s 33% – an even greater pulpit from which to attack, coming just months after Crown was awarded a license in Sydney, allowing it to break Echo’s long-time monopoly in Australia’s largest city.
It was also a significant win for Echo’s recently appointed CEO Matt Bekier. Appointed after predecessor John Redmond was let go due to poor financial performance in the first half of the 2013-14 fiscal year, Bekier brought with him a strong background in finance, but many questioned whether his lack of industry experience was enough to combat Crown’s efforts to move in on the doorstep of Echo’s existing Treasury Casino in Brisbane.
When Echo and its Hong Kong partners in Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium were announced – surprisingly to some – as the developers of choice for Queen’s Wharf, it was considered that this was instead an opportunity for it to reclaim some market share back from Crown. And not least by building a property that could appeal to the growing Chinese tourism and gaming market.
Likewise, “This is Echo’s opportunity to position itself as a major IR developer and operator,” explained Newpage Consulting Principal David Green in 2015. A successful Echo IR “may position it for growth internationally, and it will certainly help Echo attract and retain a broader range of executive talent. It has also refreshed investor interest in Echo shares, so tapping the capital market may not be as challenging going forward.”
Of course, it all went south in the years that ensued. Originally slated for a 2022 opening, Queen’s Wharf finally opened in August 2024 following a raft of delays linked to COVID as well a dispute with its main developer, Multiplex, and dwindling cash reserves.
The onset of inquiries into Star due to its links with Asian-junket operators also saw the entire executive team behind Star’s Brisbane bid fall by the wayside – as has the Asian junket market itself thanks to a crackdown by authorities in Beijing.
Star still finds itself on the brink, albeit having found a potential lifeline in recent months via US casino operator Bally’s Corp. However, a deal struck in April for Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium to take full control of Queen’s Wharf – therefore helping alleviate Star of oppressive debt – fell through in late June, pending recent talks to try and salvage it. In a shining example that everything comes full circle, recent reports suggest that, should the Hong Kong partners eventually decide to buy out Star’s 50% stake, they might tap Crown to run the Brisbane casino instead.
That leaves the short-term future of Queen’s Wharf – an impressive facility run by some 3,000 staff – very much in limbo.
