Star targets Cairns casino
ENTERTAINMENT giant Star has gone all-in on a bid for a new casino resort in Cairns – as the battle over a new global tourism hub earmarked for the Gold Coast intensifies.
The State Government will today announce Star as one of three bidders shortlisted for the massive tourism development in Cairns, alongside Reef, the current operator of the city’s sole casino, and global player Hard Rock.
However Star’s inclusion has raised the ire of some within the government after company executives publicly slammed plans to open bids for a global tourism hub, potentially featuring a second casino, on the Gold Coast.
Star, the company behind Brisbane’s massive Queen’s Wharf development, is partway through a multibilliondollar expansion of its Gold Coast casino, but has threatened to scale back the development if the government allows a new player in to the market.
At a presentation to a Gaming, Racing and Wagering Australia conference in Brisbane last month, Star CEO Matt Bekier said the Gold Coast already had the second highest per-capita ratio of gaming machines in the state.
Cairns had the highest, and it was “a myth” that a second casino on the Glitter Strip would create healthy competition.
Some within the Government are incensed that Star has been so vocal against another casino operator for the Gold Coast, while building a bid for another city that already has a casino.
Star has been prevented from commenting on any Cairns proposal ahead of today’s official announcement, but Mr Bekier has previously said he believed Australian cities can only sustain one casino.
A Star spokesman yesterday reaffirmed that position.
“We do not believe there is room for two casinos in Cairns or on the Gold Coast,” he said.
An insider said Star’s Cairns bid also admitted the small size of the Cairns catchment meant the market could only sustain one large-scale integrated resort or casino.
“Two casinos in Cairns are not commercially viable,” the source said.
Mr Bekier told last month’s conference Star would be forced to shelve further expansion plans and defend the local market share if a rival group was given the green light for a Gold Coast global tourism hub.
It is almost two weeks since the State Government launched a call for expressions of interest on the Gold Coast project, with up to a dozen major international players tipped to join the race.
Clubs Queensland has argued against second casinos in both markets, saying they would destroy smaller pubs and clubs.