The Star Entertainment Group, which is behind the Sydney Star Casino, Gold Coast’s Jupiter’s Casino and Brisbane’s Treasury Casino, has just been granted a formal casino license for a new casino to operate on the Queens Wharf in Brisbane.
Last year The Destination Brisbane Consortium consisting of the Star Entertainment Group, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises closed a deal for the proposed $3 billion project to redevelop Brisbane’s Queens Wharf precinct. The Queen’s Wharf Brisbane Integrated Resort is expected to include a major casino, hotel and residential apartment complex, and will be situated alongside the Treasury Casino on the banks of the Brisbane River.
Approval of the new casino license sees The Destination Brisbane Consortium, for which Star Entertainment has a 50% interest, liable for a $213 million payment to the Queensland Government, providing a hefty boost to the state’s economy. Star’s share of the licensing fee is $77 million, which is due to be coughed up by the end of October.
The Queen’s Wharf casino project is expected to create approximately 2,000 construction jobs during development, plus a further 8,000 jobs once the resort opens in 2020.
The consortium’s vision for the Queens Wharf revamp includes:
- An iconic, signature “arc” style building
- A Sky Deck providing views over the Brisbane River and city skyline
- Infinity resort pool overlooking the Brisbane River and Southbank
- Repurposing of the existing Treasury Casino and Hotel
- Introduction of five premium hotel brands, including Ritz-Carlton and Rosewood, along with the introduction of Brisbane’s first ever six-star hotel
- Fifty new restaurants and bars, ranging from fine dining to trendy pop-up cafes
- Moonlight roof top cinema
- Black tie event space
- Public event spaces equal in size to 12 football fields
Approval of the new casino license is huge news for Star Entertainment, who has just shortlisted three possible architectural designs for its new Ritz-Carlton hotel tower on Sydney’s Darling Harbour.