But like at Hoiana, where Chow Tai Fook took a controlling stake with Chau out of the picture, the real money spinner in Brisbane could be the development around the casino. Cheng said he killed the original deal to buy Suncity because "I don't like the junket business or Mr Chau". One of the men, a billion-dollar Chow Tai Fook shareholder and co-founder of its jewellery business, was loaned the money on a "handshake" and charged no interest. Chow Tai Fook denied having any "agreements, directorships or business relationships" with the Vietnam casino. A source close to the project gave the ABC a detailed account of Chow Tai Fook's involvement. "The Queensland government would then conduct a rigorous process to license a new, financially sound, and compliant operator for the casino."
It's also agreed to a $300 million rescue package with US casino giant Bally's, which would take a majority stake in Star. Star's now on the verge of losing its shirt, poised to unload its half of the gleaming new Brisbane casino to its Chinese partners in a bid to stave off financial ruin. But in 2018, Star was turning a blind eye to Suncity running bags of cash through a VIP room in its Sydney casino. One Chinese high roller and suspected money launderer used it to access more than $100 million. "NAB's exact comment was, 'That makes for a very expensive hotel room,'" a cashier manager told casino executives in an email.
Queensland regulators believed Hong Kong tycoon Cheng Yu Tung, pictured here in 2011, was too elderly to have any influence on his family's involvement in the Brisbane casino. He was barred from any involvement in the Brisbane venture — and died the following year. Had that happened, Suncity would "likely have had a significant involvement in the introduction of international VIP players" to Brisbane, according to the OLGR. The business partnership which saved Donald Trump's career was forged in a failed Australian casino bid. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, controlled by Hong Kong's Cheng family, is a jewellery and property empire with "vast financial resources", according to Queensland's Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation OLGR.
Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment is facing the potential collapse of the deal to offload its troubled Queen’s Wharf precinct in Brisbane to its Asian partners a day before the deadline. As our local Brisbane team have identified, one of these underlying issues is the need to drive business by having the Brisbane’s Star Casino be a destination point for tourism, like the Crown Casino is for Melbourne. If the above options are not viable or there is insufficient time to explore them, the Star may need to consider appointing an administrator to effectively trade on the business in an effort to avoid liquidation. On Friday 1 August 2025, the Star Entertainment Group Limited released a further update on the embattled financial crises surrounding the Casino at Brisbane’s, Queen’s Wharf.
Bates was quizzed during Wednesday’s budget estimates hearings by Queensland shadow treasurer Shannon Fentiman about her role in negotiations around the financial position of Queen’s Wharf. Star is also awaiting the outcome of a court decision on fines for breaches of anti-money-laundering regulations that is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But if the groups fail to reach an agreement by Friday, Star will be forced to repay more than $36 million to its consortium partners by September. Star also flagged that it is unlikely to finalise a deal to sell its share of Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf casino to its consortium partners – Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium – by the July 31 deadline. Star’s quarterly report, which precedes audited financial accounts due next month, states that it made a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation costs of $27 million for the quarter ending June 30, on revenue of $270 million.
As part of the agreement, Star would keep the rights to operate the casino. Graeme Hughes says the Queen's Wharf project was plagued with delays and became a 'drain' for Star. "Star's deep-seated problems really began with widespread failures in anti-money laundering compliance," Mr Hughes said.
In his interview with the regulator in November 2023, Chow Tai Fook chairman Henry Cheng denied the conglomerate was "financing the Vietnam project" — rather it had given personal loans to friends. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun, holds a souvenir during the trading debut of the company at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange December 15, 2011. A senior Chow Tai Fook executive did that for them, and was able to arrange funding without their involvement. When he died in 2018, Chow Tai Fook bought back his stake and sold it to one of its finance managers. First phase of the resort project by Suncity is under construction near the beach coastline of Hoiana, Vietnam March 26, 2018. It distanced itself from the Hoiana casino the next year, but maintained a hidden involvement it repeatedly and falsely denied. Cheng said the deal wasn't going ahead because of Suncity's poor finances — not because due diligence had uncovered anything shady about Chau.
When Star announced the Brisbane deal in March, it helped the casino operator avoid financial collapse, with the consortium partners offering to pay $53 million for Star’s 50 per cent share. The parties are renegotiating the deal after the Asian partners threatened to walk away from the March agreement. If you need assistance navigating cash flow or insolvency issues for your business, please contact one of our experienced insolvency lawyers.Author - Erin Prout is a Principal Lawyer specialising in insolvency and litigation and is based in Aitken Partners Brisbane office.
"Queen's Wharf became a drain because, as a 50 per cent joint venture, Star was on the hook for huge capital contributions and a big chunk of the project's $1.4 billion debt," Graeme Hughes from Griffith University's business school said. The deadline to reach a deal on the sale of Star Entertainment's stake in Brisbane's Queen's Wharf precinct has been extended, as the casino operator desperately fights to avoid administration. Star Entertainment’s Hong Kong investors have offered to take over the embattled casino group’s new Queen’s Wharf complex in Brisbane under a plan that would significantly ease the company’s financial woes.

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