Star’s Special Manager Is Being Paid $1M a Year, Report Says

Nicholas Weeks, the government-appointed special manager of Star Entertainment’s business is being paid almost $1 million a year for his work at the company’s Sydney casino, the Financial Review reported. Considering that Weeks is also responsible for overseeing the group’s casino in Queensland, his salary might be well over what Star CEO Robbie Cooke gets.

As reported by the financial news outlet, Weeks is being paid $75,000 a month to oversee Star’s Sydney-based property. In addition, he is being paid to oversee the casinos in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Weeks was appointed as special manager of Star Sydney’s casino operations in October 2022. He is set to remain in the position until June. In the meantime, he is set to oversee Star’s Queensland casinos until December. Weeks’ terms were extended by six months as the company needed more time to get its business under control.  

The Financial Review believes that Weeks should have been paid around $1.2 million for his work on Star Sydney. The news outlet pointed out that this money is only a small portion of the $68 million the casino and hospitality company set aside for the implementation of its remediation plan.

FR explained that Weeks’ NSW salary was revealed in disclosures to the NSW parliament. However, the news outlet couldn’t confirm the salary for his contract with Star’s Brisbane and Gold Coast properties.

Sources also told FR that Stephen O’Bryan, KC, the special manager in charge of Crown Melbourne, has, together with his team, earned more than $10 million. In the meantime, Adam Bell, SC, who previously investigated Star’s business, should receive approximately $525,000 for overseeing an upcoming inquiry into Star’s NSW casino.

Star Must Prove Its Compliance

Speaking of the second inquiry, the NICC plans to conduct another probe into Star’s business to see if the company has been able to address its past failings. Depending on the outcome of the inquiry, the company may regain its suitability to hold a license in Sydney.

For reference, Star was previously involved in a lengthy investigation that uncovered multiple regulatory and AML-related shortcomings. The previous Bell review included a total of 30 recommendations, which suggested what weak points the company should address.

As Star continues to struggle with mounting losses, it has the important task of convincing authorities that it has addressed all shortcomings and is ready to operate in a compliant manner.

CEO Cooke recently commented on the matter, expressing his excitement about proving Star’s compliance.

In other news, Star recently formalized its NSW jobs guarantee and cashless gaming trial.