Analyst: Second casino debate a matter of stacking up

A LEADING gaming industry analyst says a second casino on the Gold Coast would be unlikely to economically stack up.

The state government has been urged by Mayor Tom Tate to revive discussions of a global tourism hub (GTH), which would include a second casino in competition with The Star Gold Coast.

While Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been noncommittal, Sydney based JP Morgan analyst Don Carducci said it was “not a realistic investment” in the current market.

“If you think about the size and scale of what Star has built in the Gold Coast, it’s different than what they have in downtown Brisbane where you can use the surrounding hotel market to support it without needing to invest in that proposition,” he said.

“On the Gold Coast, you cannot have a casino without (also building) the hotels, the bars, restaurants, clubs and entertainment venues.

“You would need thousands of machines and if you were trying to compete, it would need to be on an equal footing across products.”

The State’s GTH process was killed off in 2020 despite interest including Las Vegas giant Caesar’s Palace.

Given current bank lending practices and the cloud still hanging over Star’s future, Mr Carducci said there would be little prospect of a project stacking up.

“It doesn’t make sense, and even if you could find that amount of money to borrow, build, and invest for the long time, it would be difficult to find a suitable location on the Gold Coast,” he said.

“We struggle to understand completely what the next few years of casino regulation and operating procedures will be, so there is further risk the environment changes.