{"id":302587,"date":"2026-02-17T13:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T13:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/302587\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T13:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T13:45:13","slug":"arthur-laundy-takes-radio-carnival-to-las-vegas-to-launch-nrl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/302587\/","title":{"rendered":"Arthur Laundy takes radio carnival to Las Vegas to launch NRL"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 17, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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Arthur Laundy is many things: a billionaire rich-lister, a pub baron, a key NRL sponsor \u2013 and the newly minted owner of radio stations 3AW and 2GB. Soon he\u2019ll be able to add rugby league radio ringleader to his resume.<\/p>\n

Later this month, the elder Laundy will lead a contingent representing his newly acquired radio business<\/a> when he heads to Las Vegas for the opening round of the NRL. Laundy will be joined by former Nine Radio boss turned Laundy lieutenant Tom Malone and a hatful of the company\u2019s biggest advertisers and key talent.<\/p>\n

\"ArthurArthur Laundy will lead a contingent of radio industry heavy hitters who are set to descend on Las Vegas for the opening round of the NRL.Ross Swanborough<\/p>\n

The company is planning to take along 2GB\u2019s Mark Levy \u2013 who was forced to promise to pay back creditors on air last month after his restaurant collapsed \u2013 to the rugby league carnival in Vegas, where we hear he\u2019s set to broadcast his morning show live, while the station\u2019s rugby league commentary will also set up shop in Sin City.<\/p>\n

Laundy has been on a tour of the radio business\u2019s key stations to rally the troops and get some face time with his new staff. One of the major questions that has swirled around the deal, as Nine prepares to relinquish control of the radio assets, is whether it paves the way for a return to the airwaves for retired radio titan Ray Hadley.<\/p>\n

Recently, Hadley told this masthead he would discuss a return<\/a> if the Laundy family wanted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cRay\u2019s a good friend of mine,\u201d Laundy told CBD on a visit to Melbourne to meet 3AW staff. \u201cI haven\u2019t discussed anything with Ray.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Tony<\/a><\/p>\n

Laundy indicated any discussion would occur through station management, including Nine Radio managing director Malone, who is moving to the new network after the deal completes in a few months. Nine is the publisher of this masthead.<\/p>\n

The former star, who has gone on the record saying he had changed his ways after several staff complaints about verbal abuse, retired from 2GB in December 2023 despite signing a contract extension until the end of this year.<\/p>\n

But when the deal was announced a fortnight ago, Laundy said it was Toby Greene, the captain of the Greater Western Sydney Giants, who was one of the first to call.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just wanted to congratulate me,\u201d Laundy said, adding Greene jokingly asked about a possible position at 3AW after he finished his football career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, he\u2019d want to improve some, but, sure, we\u2019d look at that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sportsbet sinks its claws into MPs at the Australian Open<\/p>\n

Just when we thought we were drowning in evidence suggesting the gambling industry had become an electoral dog with fleas, Canberra\u2019s best and brightest continue to prove us wrong.<\/p>\n

For the latest piece of evidence, look no further than Liberal MPs Mary Aldred and Dan Tehan, who joined Labor senator Raff Ciccone at the Australian Open<\/a> as guests of Sportsbet, the bookmaking behemoth owned by Irish gaming company Flutter Entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI co-chair the Parliamentary Friends of Thoroughbred Racing and was officially invited,\u201d was Tehan\u2019s response to questions from CBD. Far be it from us to question the official capacity in which our federal representatives turn up to these things.<\/p>\n

Aldred and Ciccone, meanwhile, left our inquiries about their relationships with the company unanswered, along with whether they support the Albanese government\u2019s stalled plans to further restrict gambling advertising. But why would they? If Labor can put those plans deep in the freezer, why can\u2019t they make the most of the job\u2019s perks?<\/p>\n

For its part, Sportsbet, through a spokesman, said the company advocates for \u201cmeaningful, measured reform\u201d, and is committed to further changes including caps on gambling ad frequency, and a ban on jersey ads.<\/p>\n

This year, CBD\u2019s coverage of the Australian Open (shout out to Media Watch<\/a> for labelling us \u201cmuch loved\u201d) missed the appearances of Aldred, Tehan and Ciccone. But we have now caught up, thanks to parliamentary disclosures.<\/p>\n

Of course, regular readers will recall we noted federal politicians were thin on the ground at the Open, save for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and a few guests of Tennis Australia.<\/p>\n

But silly us! We didn\u2019t look closely enough at the corporate boxes. Sportsbet has historically used all manner of dinners and sporting events to wine and dine striving parliamentarians and their bosses, who have often been all too happy to oblige.<\/p>\n

For some, all it takes are tickets to a semi-final.<\/p>\n

High-flying investor plots $1.6m reno on Bellevue Hill trophy home<\/p>\n

Erstwhile Macquarie banker turned hedge fund investor Sebastian Barrack may have long ago left Australian shores for life stateside with his wife Snjezana, after taking a job heading up commodities at Ken Griffin\u2019s Citadel about eight years ago.<\/p>\n

\"SebastianSebastian Barrack leapt from Macquarie to head up Citadel\u2019s commodities unit.<\/p>\n

But the distance hasn\u2019t stopped the pair from giving their $18 million Sydney trophy home a bit of a spruce up.<\/p>\n

Recent paperwork filed with Woollahra Council shows the Bellevue Hill mansion, which the couple bought in 2017<\/a>, is the subject of a development application which details a string of renovations set to cost a tick over $1.6 million.<\/p>\n

Plans lodged with council show the work includes an enlarged first floor for the cabana. Then there\u2019s some demountable steel and timber stairs, along with a first-floor extension on the existing \u201cnon-original 1959 balcony\u201d. Let\u2019s not forget new terrace stairs and planter.<\/p>\n

On the south side, the couple also want a new pergola and viewing platform. We tried to reach Barrack through Citadel to learn more. But you can imagine how that went. Here\u2019s to hoping the renos are done in time for the couple\u2019s next visit home.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CORRECTION<\/p>\n

An earlier version of this story said Sebastian Barrack is Head of Commodities at Citadel Securities. It\u2019s been updated to say he is employed by Citadel.<\/p>\n

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\"JohnJohn Buckley<\/a> is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.\"StephenStephen Brook<\/a> is a special correspondent for The Age and CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously deputy editor of The Sunday Age. He is a former media editor of The Australian and spent six years in London working for The Guardian.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"February 17, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-302587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}