Star Entertainment again has defied the odds after being allowed to keep its gaming room doors open.But the Sydney based casino operator, with establishments in New South Wales and Queensland, faces an uncertain future.After whacking Star with a $15 million fine, the NSW Independent Casino Commission has given the company’s new management until March next year to get its house in order. But it has insisted the group file monthly financial reports and updates on its restructuring.The March deadline coincides with the contract end of Star’s government appointed overseer.Nicholas Weeks was appointed two years ago by the NSW government to manage Star and holds the casino licences in NSW and Queensland following two inquiries found the company unfit to hold the licence.The first inquiry found the casino group had facilitated money laundering after allowing Chinese criminal gangs to operate on the premises. The second revealed the group had attempted to undermine the oversight of regulators and Mr Weeks.Battling to surviveDespite the welcome decision by the regulator, Star’s new chief executive Steve McCann faces an uphill battle to keep the company afloat.Star Entertainment’s rocky path to survivalStar Entertainment’s future has been saved. But, while the banking syndicate has agreed to tip in an extra $200 million in new loans to keep it afloat, complications in its rescue continued to the very end.Just weeks ago, he secured a $200 million lifeline from the company’s banking syndicate which was crucial in today’s NICC decision to give the company some breathing space.He now must lift governance standards, devise a proper management structure and appoint new senior managers for the individual casinos.More pressing, however, is the company’s precarious financial position.The recent bank refinancing is merely a temporary measure. Along with the $15 million fine – to be paid in three instalments – the anti-money laundering authority AUSTRAC is expected to hit the group with a fine of more than $200 million.On top of that, the company next year has to inject another $350 million into its disastrous Queen’s Wharf development in Brisbane where construction cost blowouts crippled its finances.On top of that, the new bank refinancing package has lumbered Star with a blistering 13.5 per cent interest rate, more than double the rate on a house mortgage.Star Entertainment’s new Queen’s Wharf development in Brisbane has been plagued with problems. (ABC News: Matt Eaton)Show us the cardsTo survive this financial storm, Mr McCann will need to raise money from investors some time next year.That will be no easy task. The shares have plumbed a 25 cent low in recent weeks after trading north of $4 immediately before the pandemic.Many shareholders are still smarting over the losses they’ve incurred in recent bail-outs.Last year, Star went cap in hand to shareholders twice, first raising $800 million at $1.20 a share in March and then, just six months later, a further $750 million at just 60c.LoadingOn top of all those woes, the company is not performing well. Foreign high rollers no longer line up to play the tables while the cost of living crisis and the crackdown on problem gamblers has further crimped revenue.Then there is the problem of staff.With all the focus on survival, McCann hasn’t had time to lure decent management candidates to fill the void created by the scandals unearthed during the various inquiries.That will need to be his primary focus now if he wants to shorten the odds on Star’s survival.As a former professional poker player, Mr McCann knows now is not the time to blink.
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