It’s a sweaty brisbane Monday and Please Don’t Go by KC and the Sunshine Band is playing in the largely empty gaming floor of the Queen’s Wharf Casino.
The sappy muzak chorus — “I’m begging you to stay” — is ironically symbolic of the problems befalling the casino’s manager, The Star Entertainment Group.
Not enough people are staying at Star’s casinos and gambling money, such as on slot machines with fortuitous-sounding names like Where’s the Gold.
Most of the tables were fairly empty this afternoon, albeit it was a Monday.
The Star is burning through cash: $107 million in the past three months alone. (Supplied: Star Entertainment Group)
One group, at least, crowded across the purple felt of a baccarat table.
This lack of customers partly means Star is burning through cash: $107 million in the past three months alone.
Morningstar analyst Angus Hewitt told clients the cash burn rate meant Star “would be lucky to make it” to its February profit results “without a lifeline”.
“We now incorporate a 50 per cent probability that Star falls into administration,” he wrote.
How would insolvency play out?
Insolvency for Star would be a massive corporate event and potentially throw up hurdles, sources with knowledge of the gaming and…
