Star Entertainment has been an initial and vital part of Queensland’s tourism industry. The company has been cooperating with the government for quite a while now and thus contributed a lot.
The discussion of The Star being the only casino in Queensland has been ongoing for quite a while and due to many reasons and obstacles, there was no specific answer to the question. Though, it has become known several days ago that the local government has finally closed the deal and refused to continue the discussion with Star Entertainment. Thus, the Star Group will no how to be the only casino in Queensland for at least the next 30 years.
The news definitely has not been the best and the most pleasant for Star Entertainment, but the decision has been made and there is no way back so far. The announcement has been made by the state development minister Kate Jones from the Gold Coast. She mentioned in her speech that the decision was made on the mutual ground and this was the common conclusion for the long-lasting decision.
Kate Jones also said that they have put a lot of effort, time, and work to extract the value of The Star hub but the negotiations came to an end as it did not work for the taxpayers. The discussion has been ongoing since the middle of October 2019. Back then the company offered to invest an additional $2 billion Gold Coast masterplan. The total masterplan included the $100 million upgrade and the expansion of the whole complex of the Gold Coast Convention and the Exhibition Center. Instead, the company demands the casino exclusivity in the region.
This is not the first time the company has contributed that much to the development of the region in general as well as the tourism industry in specific. There have been over $5 billion to reinvigorate tourism in the southeast part of Queensland. In the speech, it was also mentioned that due to the drastic changes in the global market it has become really difficult to navigate and to make any certain promises and any forecasts.
On the other hand, there has been the comment made from the side of the company stating that investing the huge amount of money annually into the developer of the resort as well s region, in general, is the clear proof for the fact that they truly care and they have been committing to creating world-class tourism and entertainment destination that will bring more than million additional visitors to Queensland on the annual basis. The comment has been made by the executive of the Star Entertainment Mr. O’Neil.
Unfortunately at some point the commitment and the general situation did not come enough for the Star Entertainment remain the one and only casino in the region, yet according to Ms. Jones, the government is not planning to introduce any new casino operators to Queensland any time soon.