Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAY 2022年5月 亞博匯 32 COVER STORY bid from US private equity giant The Blackstone Group. Exactly what Blackstone has planned for Crown is unclear, but one theory is that it would look to streamline operations then sell off its properties as individual assets. The fate of Star is itself open to conjecture, although Managing Director and CEOMatt Bekier is an early casualty after falling on his sword in March. It has been widely expected that others will follow, including long-time Chairman John O’Neill, so it came as more than a surprise when he was recently named Executive Chairman on an interim basis while the company looks for a permanent replacement for Bekier – O'Neill earning an AU$1.5 million (US$1.1 million) annual pay rise in the process. “It’s hard to see the current board remaining and I think they have made a mistake appointing John O’Neill,” said one industry source IAG spoke with. “That looks a lot like Helen Coonan [who filled in as Executive Chairman at Crown after CEO Ken Barton quit in February 2021], which was not well received by the Victorian Royal Commission. I can’t believe Star hasn’t seen that.” The findings against Star during public hearings, at least so far, have centered around its anti-money laundering controls and relationship with Asian junkets, and not the additional issues around responsible The Star Sydney 而星億集團的命運也令人側目。 星億集團董事總經理兼行政總裁Matt Bekier於今年3月辭任。外界普遍認為包 括長期擔任主席的John O’Neill等也會作 出同樣行為。但令人驚訝的是，該公司 近期任命John O’Neill在公司尋找Matt Bekier繼任者期間擔任臨時執行主席， 並且此過程中他將自己的年薪增加了150 萬澳元（110萬美元）。 一位業內消息人士向《亞博匯》表 示：「現任董事會很難留任，我認為他 們任命John O’Neill是一個錯誤。」 「這看起來很像是Helen Coonan （在Ken Barton於2021年2月辭任皇冠行 政總裁後擔任皇冠執行主席）的狀況重 現，當時維州皇家調查委員會對此不滿。 我不敢相信星億沒有看到這一點。」 與皇冠集團一樣，至少迄今為止， 在公開聽證會上針對星億集團的調查都 圍繞著該公司對於反洗錢的管控、與亞 洲博彩中介人的關聯，以及同樣困擾著 皇冠公司的負責任博彩及避稅問題等。