Operator News
Counsel offers no timeline for when The Star may be a suitable casino operator
By Phil - 23 May 2024
Counsel assisting the second Bell inquiry into Star Entertainment has said that the operator remains unsuitable to hold a NSW casino licence, adding that there was no timeline for when The Star could be classed as suitable.
In his closing submissions, Caspar Conde, the special counsel assisting Adam Bell SC, said: “In terms of present suitability, our submission remains that you would conclude that The Star and Star Entertainment are not presently suitable, regardless of any proposal in relation to licence conditions or the manager. There is no basis in the evidence to discern a future time by which the inquiry can be satisfied that The Star and Star Entertainment will or are likely to become suitable.”
He said that management at The Star had ‘a mindset of being suspicious, fearful and possibly defiant’ and was ‘foolish and counterproductive.’
“There were some references in the oral submissions, both from The Star entities and Mr Cooke, to Mr Cooke being like a wartime president,” said Mr. Conde. “Picking up on that analogy, the problem is that Mr Cooke regarded the NICC as an enemy. This only arose from the fact that Mr Cooke was entrusted with principal responsibility for Star Entertainment’s response”.
“He was seemingly at liberty to draft as he saw fit, including ignoring the considered views of board members and the company’s legal advisors.
“If that is right, that would be, in our submission, a very good example of why it was a mistake for Star Entertainment not to have moved Mr Cooke on in December 2023, after the NICC’s loss of confidence earlier that month.”
Mr. Bell will present his final report to the NICC on 31 July 2024.
