{"id":65974,"date":"2025-08-13T20:53:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T20:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/65974\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T20:53:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T20:53:11","slug":"queens-wharf-job-fears-as-star-seeks-approval-for-casino-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/65974\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen’s Wharf job fears as Star seeks approval for casino deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A deal between gambling giant Star Entertainment and its partners in Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf casino still faces regulatory hurdles and has left employees with questions about their future at the embattled precinct.<\/p>\n

Star told investors on Tuesday morning it had finally signed a deal with its Hong Kong partners<\/a> \u2014 including one which was once linked to organised crime figures.<\/p>\n

The deal would see Star give up assets, including its 50 per cent stake in the $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf casino complex, and the Treasury car park and hotel.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The deal will see Star give up its 50 per cent stake in the Queen’s Wharf casino complex. (ABC News: Christopher Gillette)<\/p>\n

In exchange, Star would receive a $53 million cash injection and stakes in Gold Coast hotels near its casino there.<\/p>\n

The deal still needs to pass regulatory checks and be approved by the Queensland government.<\/p>\n

How did Star get to this point?<\/p>\n

Star has struggled financially <\/a>amid regulatory inquiries and increasingly tough gaming regulations.<\/p>\n

In Brisbane, the Queen’s Wharf precinct was originally planned for 2022, but years of lockdowns, flooding and a mould outbreak were among many issues which delayed its opening to August 2024.<\/p>\n

In March, in a bid to stave off insolvency, Star agreed to sell its 50 per cent stake in Queen’s Wharf to its joint venture partners.<\/p>\n

That announcement marked the beginning of a turbulent five months, during which those same partners announced they would terminate the agreement.<\/p>\n

This week, that was walked back, with Star announcing a new deal had finally been signed.<\/p>\n

Deal still needs regulatory approval<\/p>\n

A Queensland government spokesperson said the deal between Star and its joint venture partners \u2014 Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) and Far East Consortium \u2014 was not yet finalised.<\/p>\n

“The agreement \u2026 is subject to regulatory approvals, which will be considered following the receipt of formal submissions,” they said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The deal still needs to pass regulatory hurdles before it’s finalised. (ABC News: Christopher Gillette)<\/p>\n

The government would not say whether it held concerns about Queen’s Wharf employees working under owners with chequered legal histories<\/a>, but said jobs and staff welfare were top priorities.<\/p>\n

“The Crisafulli government’s priority, as always, remains on the workers at the Star,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Griffith University Business School’s Graeme Hughes said the deal would come as a relief to Star Entertainment if approved.<\/p>\n

“For Star, the Queen’s Wharf sale is a strategic retreat from what has become a financial quagmire, with development costs blowing out by more than $1 billion,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The deal takes a huge debt pile off its books and signals a clear shift in focus.”<\/p>\n

Mr Hughes said the deal’s success \u2014 and a lifeline for Star \u2014 hinges on getting the “green light” from regulators.<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

The Queen’s Wharf precint opened in Brisbane in August 2024. (Supplied: Star Entertainment Group)<\/p>\n

“At the core of the issue is the transfer of a major casino licence to a new ownership structure,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Regulators will scrutinise Chow Tai Fook and Far East to ensure they meet the stringent probity requirements necessary to control such a significant asset.<\/p>\n

“The stakes are high.”<\/p>\n

Staff still seeking job certainty\u00a0<\/p>\n

The deal has left employees with questions about the future of their jobs in the precinct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

United Workers Union casinos director Andrew Jones said the union had been supportive of the Star Brisbane through many of its hurdles.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Star has been seeking a financial lifeline, after its cash reserves sank to $79 million at the end of 2024. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

“The latest news once again increases uncertainty for members. We’re seeking further information from the company about this announcement,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Our consistent position is that any future structure of Star Brisbane should prioritise the job security of workers, which will give stability to the casino, the workers and their families.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A deal between gambling giant Star Entertainment and its partners in Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf casino still faces regulatory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,32932,52404,32934,21944,52403,52402,32931,52406,52405],"class_list":["post-65974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-casino","tag-chow-tai-fook","tag-far-east-consortium","tag-gambling","tag-queens-wharf","tag-star-casino","tag-star-entertainment","tag-tim-costello","tag-united-workers-union"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}