Inquiry hears Star kept secretly working with Suncity after junket relationship publicly ceased

Australia’s Star Entertainment Group continued working with Macau junket promotor Suncity Group in secret despite informing the market in 2019 that the two companies had agreed to part ways, it was alleged during public hearings on Wednesday.

In an explosive day of testimony as part of an inquiry into Star’s suitability to retain its casino license for The Star Sydney, Star’s Group Manager Due Diligence and Intelligence, Angus Buchanan, said the company had not stopped working with Suncity at all but instead moved the junket’s operations into an unbranded private room.

Suncity “was still operating at the Star, albeit not under the Suncity banner,” Buchanan said, noting that the only difference between its former home, Salon 95, and its new home, Salon 82, was that the latter did not have any Suncity-branded signage.

The public announcement that Star and Suncity were parting ways by mutual agreement followed a media investigation into the junket promotor’s operations at Crown Melbourne and ultimately led to inquiries in all three states where Crown operates. Crown was ultimately found unsuitable to hold a casino license in NSW and Victoria – although it is currently working through mediation – and since late 2020 has parted ways with all but one member of its Board of Directors.

Source: https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2022/03/24/inquiry-hears-star-kept-secretly-working-with-suncity-after-junket-relationship-publicly-ceased/