New Inquiry Into Star Casino

The New South Wales gaming authority announced Feb. 16 it will hold a new inquiry into the Star casino in Sydney. It will investigate if Star and its parent company Echo Entertainment hushed up the sacking of U.S.-born managing director Sid Vaikunta until a statutory five-year review of the casino’s licence finished in late December.

The chairman of the Casino, Liquor and Gaming Control Authority, Chris Sidoti, said the inquiry would investigate Vaikunta’s sacking and “any issues relevant to the authorities’ responsibilities” under the Casino Control Act. If the probe finds that Star breached duties under the Casino Control Act by not providing this information, the casino faces a maximum fine of A$1 million (US$1.075 million) and loss of its licence.

Senior counsel Gail Furness has until April 5 to submit findings. Furness noted in her December review that the culture of the casino changed after the arrival of Echo Entertainment CEO Larry Mullin and Vaikunta, who worked at Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that one woman – a senior human resources officer – who made harassment allegations was sacked after returning from two weeks’ stress leave. She was accused of leaking confidential information about Vaikunta’s sacking.

The paper also reported that another U.S. executive, Tom Snell, who was employed in August 2011 as resident manager at the Star’s Darling Hotel, was sacked in early December following an investigation into sexual harassment complaints by staff.