The Star Sydney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAWS: <\/strong>Well, that was going to be my very next question for you. The regulator has now given you the green light to convert that debt to equity at your leisure, whenever you\u2019re willing to do so. And you\u2019re saying you want to do that as early as before the AGM on this coming Tuesday, November 25?<\/p>\nSK: <\/strong>Oh, for sure, absolutely. Look, I\u2019m not going to say it is without risk. We have a lot of work to do. But we have confidence from having turned around as many casinos as we have, in all sorts of circumstances. That gives us the quiet belief that we can do it again here. We\u2019ve seen nothing so far to indicate that we can\u2019t do so. So yes, we want the upside of the equity.<\/p>\nAWS: <\/strong>You said you\u2019ve done this kind of casino turnaround a number of times before. You\u2019ve had the advantage of getting a dozen or so of your team on the ground in August or September as you just mentioned. So that\u2019s great, a little bit of a head start. What\u2019s step one for you and your team upon assuming control?<\/p>\nSK: <\/strong>Well, firstly I actually commend the group leadership who have not really spent that much time operating the business but have been dealing with all these external challenges of unwinding the DBC (Destination Brisbane Consortium), dealing with the debt, our transaction itself and so it\u2018s meant dealing with so many things outside the ordinary course of business. It\u2019s taken a lot of effort for that group management team to hold things together and guide the company through that.<\/p>\nObviously the company\u2019s still in a special manager situation. There is a remediation plan that they are continuing to implement. So there\u2019s just a lot going on at the group level, which I think we will continue. You know we\u2019re committed to the remediation. We\u2019re committed to the improvements that the company have done on that front and we need to complete that. But one of the first changes is, really, leadership at the property levels. I think that there\u2019s a lot of changes that can and will be made. I think you know, and I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s coincidental, but obviously earlier [in the week beginning November 17] there were a number of voluntary leavers in property leadership and frankly I think that you know it\u2019s probably in anticipation of us coming in. So I think the first step is really to make sure that we have good leadership at each of the properties. So stay tuned on that.<\/p>\n
Obviously we need to convert [Bally\u2019s subordinated debt to equity], and I need to join the board with my colleague George Papanier. We\u2019ll start to make those changes. But property leadership, which really will help set the direction of the operations itself, will be the first step.<\/p>\n
SK: <\/strong>To be honest, we didn\u2019t know all 40 of those leavers, so it\u2019s hard for me to answer your question, or to know whether or not that\u2019s exactly what we would have done. I\u2019m sure there were some we would have preferred to keep if possible.<\/p>\nBut one clarification is when you say it\u2019s \u201cour people.\u201d When we go into a situation like this, you know we obviously have a team of experienced people, but they also have jobs, right? And remember our position here is of a substantial, but not the majority, shareholder. So we\u2019re in a position to have substantial control and obviously and if Bruce [Mathieson] were to agree we\u2019d have majority control. But our goal is to make sure the right<\/em> people are in place, so it\u2019s not necessarily our<\/em> people. I mean hopefully they will consider themselves our people, but you know a lot of times when we look for leadership, we actually look from within.<\/p>\nMaybe there are people in the wrong places or not quite empowered correctly or just not being given the opportunity. There could be people from in country, in industry, but not part of our company yet. And so we\u2019ll recruit those people in and there could be some people we bring to consult, or second into the company, I think in certain spaces where they can make the most difference. But our goal isn\u2019t to just put all of our Bally employees in the company. I think there\u2019ll be very few actually. I think the real goal here is for us to make to make sure that the kind of people we would want to work with are in the right positions. Most of the talent we find right from within the company itself actually.<\/p>\n
AWS: <\/strong>So perhaps the right<\/em> people is a better expression than your<\/em> people. Putting aside the developments of today and this week and this month, even the rest of this year and even maybe next year, how do you see Star positioned in the longer term as an asset for your company and its position within the broader Australian tourism industry?<\/p>\nSK: <\/strong>Well, look, I think it\u2019s a real honor and privilege to own and manage the properties, which are essentially mini-monopolies in the number one, three and five cities in Australia. And obviously, as you know, Crown has cities two and four. I mean, I\u2019m just talking about absolute size of population, obviously. Every city believes that they\u2019re number one, right?<\/p>\nBut in terms of being able to own or manage the properties in the most significant cities in the country, I think it\u2019s a fantastic opportunity. I think it is analogous to in America where this year we have a similar situation as we are in the process of building the only casino in the city of Chicago, which is the third city in our country. So I think it\u2019s a wonderful opportunity for us to do what we have done across casinos in the past and bring that same excitement and those skills to bear on a large and meaningful situation.<\/p>\nThe Star Brisbane opened in August 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAWS: <\/strong>Two more questions for you. First of all, there\u2019s been the on-again, off-again deal with the Hong Kong partners around the 50% stake in Brisbane. I know when we spoke some time ago, your initial preference was to try to keep all of the assets together for all three locations: Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney. In Brisbane you\u2019ve got the two Hong Kong partners, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook. Apparently the deal to sell Star\u2019s 50% equity in Brisbane to them seems to be back on again. Are you disappointed about that, or do you see that as necessary for the company to move forward?<\/p>\nSK: <\/strong>Well, look, a deal is a deal. This is the deal that the company did and you know ultimately we support, but the most important thing from my perspective is that the DBC (Destination Brisbane Consortium) partners have a good experience, right? We have a really important responsibility even though ownership is in the process of changing hands. As per the deal, as you know, we are managing the property today and we hope to manage it for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\nAnd look, they have every right to be disappointed in the company, because, frankly, Star has not done a great job operating their assets, much in the same way it hasn\u2019t done really a great job operating any of its assets.<\/p>\n
So our primary focus is not ownership but it\u2019s to make sure that they have a good experience. We are excited to own and manage the Sydney property and the Gold Coast property, but we are equally excited to manage the Brisbane property and deliver for the Hong Kong partners the results that they frankly expected and deserve versus what they\u2019ve gotten to date. So I think that\u2019s going to be the focus. And if we do a great job for them, why would they change?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to respect the deal that was cut before I was in control, we respect the commitments of the company, but the only thing that I\u2019ve asked of them is to give us a chance. What I have said to them is, I know that you\u2019ve been disappointed by this company, please don\u2019t hold those sins against us because we are not them [the former management]. Give us a chance to do a good job on these beautiful assets. I know what the ultimate plan for the properties and integrated resorts are and it\u2019s fantastic. We just now have to make that happen.<\/p>\n
AWS: <\/strong>It\u2019s interesting to hear you say of the DBC partners that they have a right to be disappointed. That\u2019s a different type of language from what we\u2019ve previously heard and it\u2019s quite refreshing to hear you say that in such stark terms compared to the previous Star managements, who continually tried to defend the positions of the past. It seems like you\u2019re not going to take that stance of defending the indefensible.<\/p>\nLast question, what is your message to the thousands of staff of the Star Entertainment Group, and the people of Sydney, the Gold Coast and Brisbane, all of whom may quite rightly be feeling disillusioned with the events of previous years. What is your message to those people?<\/p>\n
SK: <\/strong>I think that it\u2019s actually similar to what I just said about the DBC folks, which is you have every right to be disappointed about what has happened and recurred in the past. But we just ask that you have an open mind, give us a chance and have some faith that we know what we\u2019re doing. I\u2019m more than confident that we\u2019ll get there.<\/p>\nAnd for the [Star Entertainment] team I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve suffered and nobody wants to be part of a team that\u2019s losing on the field, it\u2019s not a pleasant experience, but again we appreciate the work of everyone on the ground; all the associates that have kept the company going.<\/p>\n
What we plan to do is bring change and a fresh perspective. You can have confidence that we know what we\u2019re doing and we will bring experience and we will bring our reputation for integrity, which I think is important. You can\u2019t fix a problem until you admit there is a problem. I think we start by saying that there is. We are not happy with the results on the field, and we need to work as a team together to change them. This is not a situation where we\u2019re presenting ourselves as some kind of saviour. That\u2019s not how it works. We\u2019re going to try to provide as much leadership as we can and ultimately an umbrella so that people can feel empowered, and ask for responsibility and to be held accountable. What else can you ask for in life? So that\u2019s our job to do and to use our credibility to do that.<\/p>\n
You know, on behalf of this company, and I think you know this, this company, if it were sort of humanized, has lost credibility and I think that\u2019s the greatest opportunity for us to say, hey guys, we\u2019re not denying the past. We see the problems as well, but give us a chance. And we are more than happy to be held accountable for what we do from this point.<\/p>\n
AWS: <\/strong>Well, it\u2019s very refreshing that you\u2019ve made yourself available to communicate in this way. We\u2019ve had some unusual interviews in airports and now you\u2019re in a car driving in New York. But despite being busy and always moving from place to place you\u2019ve made yourself available to speak to the stakeholders in a public forum like this. The previous management didn\u2019t do that and I think having that open line of communication will go a long way, because people just want to be understood and listened to, and to know what is going on. So on behalf of the audience of IAG<\/em>, thank you. We really appreciate you making yourself available in that way and we wish you all the best. Hopefully Bally\u2019s coming to Star will make a huge difference and the company can move forward and get back to some of its former glories.<\/p>\nSK: <\/strong>Andrew, I appreciate the forum. I guess you\u2019re right, every time you catch me, I am moving somewhere but I think the key is to always move forward, right? And we\u2019re excited \u2013 as you can see we\u2019re putting our money where our mouth is. We don\u2019t deny there are a lot of problems, but we are so confident that we can fix these, we put our own capital on the line, and at the first opportunity that we have to convert from debt to equity, we will take it. We want the ability to both influence the outcomes and own the results. So I think the best days are ahead.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source asgam.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inside Asian Gaming\u2019s Vice Chairman and CEO Andrew W Scott managed to catch Bally\u2019s Chairman Soo Kim while he was being driven in New York, just hours after the NSW and Queensland Gaming regulators both issued statements on Friday confirming Bally\u2019s had, after waiting over seven months, passed probity and was approved to immediately take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2173268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2173267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ballys-chair-Soo-Kim-speaks-with-IAG-after-receiving-probity.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2173267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2173269,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173267\/revisions\/2173269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2173268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2173267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2173267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2173267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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AWS: <\/strong>It\u2019s pretty logical that you would want your people on the ground from early on. You\u2019ve got experience in these kind of turnarounds and let\u2019s be honest, Star has not covered itself in glory, much as you complimented the existing management given all of the external non-operational challenges that they\u2019ve been facing. They haven\u2019t had the success that say Crown for example has had in remediating and getting their license back. You mentioned some of the staff that left that Steve McCann announced in the past week, the 40 senior positions. What are your thoughts on that and do you see scope for even greater cuts there<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asgam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/452484930_369821406149567_9008735455875968365_n.jpg\")