Row Over ‘Americanisation’ Of Star City

Former management staff at Sydney’s Star City casino complained that Australian executives are being replaced by U.S.-born or -trained execs to Americanise the Tabcorp-owned venue.

Ten executives left in the past 12 months, including managing director Craig Garvin and celebrity chef Sean Connolly, while four GMs exited mid-September, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Its current managing director Sid Vaikunta, previously at Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, said in a statement that changes to the management team were instituted “as we transform the casino complex into a world-class entertainment destination.”

He added, “The vast majority of our management team is made up of highly experienced local managers. In fact, seven of our 11 senior managers are high-performing local managers and many are long-serving managers of Star City.”