TERRY MCCRANN

It looked like they would end up going head-to-head with – a much younger, much more aggressively ambitious – Packer, who was trying to persuade Echo/Star to merge or deal him in on its Sydney franchise. That was when Packer was embarking on “owning the world” – Australia, Macau, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan – if it finally opened up – and back even to casino ground zero, Vegas.

Echo/Star said no to Packer and his response was to embark on Barangaroo. As for Genting it finally sold out of Echo/Star in 2017.