New Star casino opens as Brisbane’s Queens Wharf
Troubled casino group – Star – flung open its gaming arm today at Queens Wharf after being given an eleventh-hour licensing reprieve. The ‘soft’ opening came after the Queensland state government hit the company with a 100 million dollar fine two years ago, due to ‘major failings’ over compliance issues.
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00:00Thousands lined up ahead of the historic opening.
00:06Punters jockeying to be the first in line to go caching.
00:10Elsewhere, patrons were christening the new bars.
00:14It's been many years in the making. We've watched it evolve and here it is.
00:20Nine years in the making, the $3.6 billion Queen's Wharf precinct has been marred by controversy.
00:27The casino group slapped with fines and a temporary suspension
00:31after damning findings around anti-money laundering programs and a lack of transparency.
00:38Late yesterday afternoon we were issued with our long-term lease of the building and our licence.
00:42A legal loophole allowing the Destination Brisbane Consortium to actually hold the licence and start to run the casino.
00:50We're confident now that the remediation plan is now in place.
00:54We're confident that we're working very cooperatively with STAR.
00:58We have a heightened focus on all of our anti-money laundering policies, procedures,
01:03our internal control manuals and measures, also our counter-terrorism financing.
01:08But not everyone's convinced.
01:10Look, the leopard does not change its spots.
01:13And what this will mean is more potential ripple effects of crime and certainly addiction in Brisbane.
01:21This casino gets what it wants because I guess the government thinks it's too big to fail.
01:27The business will be monitored by a special administrator
01:30to ensure the company's promises of integrity and honesty are kept.
01:36STAR says the casino is just a slice of the business,
01:39with its first five-star hotel already booked out this week.
01:43For the city it's going to be a big change, whether you're a gambler or not.
01:48No shortage of those, though, if the first day's turnout is anything to go by.