Star Entertainment Group has avoided a "second strike" on its executive pay report that could have forced its entire board to stand for re-election, as its new leader described working long hours to effect a turnaround.
An early vote tally showed that just 17.2 per cent of votes were being cast against the renumeration report, meaning it would gain the 75 per cent super majority required to avoid a board spill, chairman David Foster told the casino group's annual general meeting on Thursday.
Chief executive Robbie Cooke told a shareholders meeting on the Gold Coast that the current management team was dedicated to returning the company to solid ground and earn back trust.
"It's challenging, I feel the pain of shareholders every day. I'm working seven days a week, 18 hours a day to resolve it. But this is not a quick fix," Mr Cooke said.
With Star shares trading close to an all-time low of just 56c, Mr Cooke said their previous range of $5 to $6 had been fuelled by "unlawful behaviours, criminals on the property and junket operators.
"The world has changed, and we're operating this business in a way which is compliant with the law and compliant with the regimes that apply to casino operations," Mr Cooke said.
After an 2021 expose by Nine newspapers and 60 Minutes led to regulatory inquiries, Mr Cooke noted that Star has contended with numerous issues.
These included the suspension of its NSW licence; $100 million fines in both Queensland and NSW; the appointment of managers to run its casinos in both states; four class action lawsuits, now consolidated into one; proceedings by AUSTRAC, the financial intelligence agency, and ASIC, the securities regulator; two equity raisings; a proposed increase in NSW gaming taxes; and the need to lay off 500 workers.
"To say the year was challenging completely understates the lived experiences here at The Star over the past 12 months," said Mr Cooke, who joined Star in October 2022.
"The damage to our social license caused by the acts of the past have been felt daily in our business on multiple levels."
Mr Cooke said the Star is working to win regulator's approval for a remediation plan to address its past failings and track and hold the company accountable to a multi-year improvement plan.
He said Star's anti-money-laundering team has been expanded from 26 to 121 full-time employees, while its safer gambling team has risen from 18 to 83 full-time staff.
It has also engaged Deloitte and The Ethics Centre separately to review the reasons for Star's past lapses, Mr Cooke said.
New CEOs for each of the Star's three properties - The Star Sydney, The Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane - will help ensure there is never a repeat of the issues identified by the Bell and Gotterson reviews, Mr Cooke said.
The Star is also preparing for the introduction of cashless and carded play in NSW, which will be legally required from August 2024, he said.
It has begun a trial involving 51 poker machines and eight gaming tables in Sydney and is talking to the Queensland regulator about a similar trial there.
Mr Foster said The Star Brisbane, its $3.6 billion megaproject set to open in the Queen's Wharf development in the first half of 2024, would be transformational for Brisbane, Queensland and The Star.
It will be a "tourism beacon" and a game-changer that will reinvigorate and beautify Brisbane's riverside, he said.
