Inside Asian Gaming

January 2011 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 7 Cover Story Adding sparkle The jewel in the crown of Tabcorp’s Casinos Division is Star City Hotel & Casino, located in Sydney in the state of New South Wales. Star City, Australia’s second largest casino after James Packer’s Crown Casino in Melbourne, opened in September 1995, and was originally owned by Showboat Inc. Showboat was acquired in 1998 by Harrah’s, which subsequently sold the property to Tabcorp in 1999. the only casino allowed to operate in Sydney, and was granted a 12-year extension of its exclusive licence in 2008. Soon after the licence extension, Star City embarked on a major refurbishment project dubbed ‘Project Star,’ scheduled for completion at the end of this year with the latest budget amounting to nearly A$1 billion (US$1 billion). The scheme encompasses a new 5-star hotel, more restaurants and bars and improved gaming and entertainment facilities, including a 3,000-seat multi-purpose entertainment venue for major international acts, trade shows, exhibitions and conferences. Star City also plans to buy a fleet of private jets to fly in top players and convert its own piece of harbour frontage into a wharf for luxury cruisers. Additionally, while the original casino entrance built by Showboat faces away from the harbour, the refurb will also re-orient the entrance towards the harbour, and the main gaming floor and high-end restaurants will face the Sydney skyline, adding to the property’s allure. Tabcorp’s Casinos Division operates three other properties in the state of Queensland: Jupiters Hotel & Casino on the Gold Coast; Treasury Casino & Hotel in Brisbane and Jupiters Townsville in the north of the state. Last month, the company announced it would invest A$625 million upgrading the facilities at the three Queensland casinos. “Most of that will be on non-gaming,” comments Mr Mullin. “Seventy-five percent of that spend is going to be on hotel and restaurants and nightlife and pools and entertainment centres that we believe will complement what we’re doing here [at Star City] for a customer that might be a domestic customer or an international customer. If they want to come to Sydney and play for a while, and then they want to have a change of scenery, we can move them to one of these other markets that are also great resorts, and we can do it pretty seamlessly. We’re going to be working now to address our properties in those markets to get ready to complement what’s going to come here by the end of this year.” Are you not entertained? On 15th December, Star City hosted an invitation-only Bon Jovi concert for its most valued customers at its current 2,000-seat theatre, with the likes of ‘Gladiator’ star Russell Crowe in attendance. Renderings of Star City’s upcoming 3,000-seat multi purpose entertainment venue, configured as a concert hall (left), and a banquet hall (right)