Over jou

Shares of Star Entertainment Group tumbled to another all-time low on Thursday as the Australian casino operator faces a liquidity crunch and crisis of confidence among its lenders. The group has been on the brink of collapse for months but staved off administrators by offloading its 50 per cent stake in a new Brisbane precinct and getting a $250 million short-term bridging loan. The business has invested in digital gaming and sports betting, acquiring free-to-play online games, fantasy sports, online casinos and launching a streaming sports service. Lawyers for the government agency pushed for a hefty fine on Tuesday, saying the casino operator and others in the industry should be deterred from similarly lax controls on potentially dirty money. Crown Melbourne was effectively sold to Kerry Packer in 1998 on the back of its own financial issues.
Star, which has been on the brink of collapse for nearly two years, has said that even a $100 million penalty could imperil its future. Initially charged with 289 criminal counts, Chau received the conviction although a judge acquitted him on infractions pertaining to money laundering. Prosecutors accused Chau of facilitating a series of undeclared bets that exceeded HK$8.25 billion (US$1 billion) in taxable income. Among the local Chinese media, Chau received the nickname \"Washing Rice Wa\", after a sitcom character. \"It\'s loaded with $650 million of its own debt, is still less than 50 per cent operational and requires hundreds of millions of dollars in additional capital expenditure to complete,\" Mr Mayne noted. The notice to terminate the transaction comes into effect in five business days, on Monday July 7, unless withdrawn prior. The Hong Kong investors poised to buy Star out of Brisbane\'s Queen\'s Wharf development have threatened to walk away from the deal that was first inked back in March.

Profielinformatie