The Star (casino)

The Star (casino)

The Star Sydney Casino & Hotel (formerly Star City Casino and prior to that, Sydney Harbour Casino) in Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after rival Melbourne's Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Harbour, The Star Sydney Casino features two gaming floors, eight bars, seven restaurants, 351 hotel rooms and 130 serviced and privately owned apartments. It also includes the 2,000 seat Lyric Theatre. Its gaming operations are overseen and controlled by the New South Wales Casino Control Authority and is licensed to be the only legal casino in New South Wales, in late 2008, it was granted a 12 year extension of its exclusivity and licence.

In 2009, Tabcorp, the owners of The Star, announced a $475 million refurbishment and expansion program called Project Star which involved the re-orientation of the casino towards Sydney Harbour, including a new "iconic" entrance as well as a drop-off zone on the harbour side of the casino site. Work began in late 2009 and is expected to be completed in 2012. The program - originally quoted as A$475 million - is just short of $1 billion. According to Echo Entertainment CEO, Larry Mullin costs are estimated to be around A$961 million. On 16 September 2011, the casino reopened under the name "The Star". In June 2011, Tabcorp split into two separate divisions, Tabcorp and Echo Entertainment. Echo Entertainment is in charge of Tabcorp's casino and hotel division to allow for better infrastructure for both companies to flourish.