Star Entertainment Settles Superyacht Spat Amid Dire Cashflow Crisis

Posted on: January 10, 2025, 03:03h. 

Last updated on: January 10, 2025, 03:03h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Embattled Australian casino operator Star Entertainment has resolved a spat over a luxury super yacht by selling the vessel to the wealthy businessman who sued the company last year for allegedly welching on the deal.

Star Entertainment, Benetti superyacht, Roys Poyiadjis, Platinum Capital Partners
The 145-foot Benetti superyacht, The Star, has now been sold to Cypriot financier Roys Poyiadjis after the latter sued the stricken casino operator for attempting to back out of the deal. (Image: BOAT International)

Faced with a severe liquidity crisis that threatens its very existence, Star has embarked on a fire sale of assets in an effort to recoup tens of millions of dollars in losses.

Among these assets was a 145-foot Benetti superyacht, The Star, which had previously been used to impress high rollers.

Star agreed to sell the boat to Platinum Capital Partners, the private investment vehicle of Cypriot financier Roys Poyiadjis, for A$8.6 million (US$5.3 million), according to court documents.

Sold Too Cheap?

Star purchased the yacht in 2019 for an unknown sum and spent A$4 million revamping it. Similarly refurbished Benetti superyachts can sell for upwards of A$20 million (US$12.3 million), the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports.

Poyiadjis filed a lawsuit against Star last April, claiming the operator had agreed to sell the vessel to Platinum but reneged on the deal after Platinum had paid a deposit and other fees.

The buyer had arranged for the yacht to be transported from Newcastle Harbour in New South Wales to Mallorca, Spain, where Platinum planned to charter the yacht to wealthy tourists.

Poyiadjis’s suit sought US$6 million in damages from the casino operator. The complaint, and a counterclaim by Star, were withdrawn on Tuesday, a day after the yacht was reported sold by the agent.

Seeing Stars

Shares in Star Entertainment hit an all-time low Thursday after the company told investors it had just A$79 million (US$49 million) left in the bank and had spent A$107 million (US$66 million) in the past three months.

The operator said it is working to fulfil the conditions necessary to draw down the second tranche of an A$200 million (US$123 million) debt facility executed in September. But Star admitted that “a number of these conditions remain challenging to meet given the group’s current circumstances.”

Star is still reeling from a damning report released last September by NSW regulators who determined the operator was still unsuitable to hold a gaming license for its flagship Star Sydney property.

The license has been suspended since 2022 when the inquiry concluded the operator had allowed itself to be used by criminal gangs to launder money in private VIP rooms. It had also fraudulently permitted Chinese high rollers to withdraw a total of $900 million for gambling using China UnionPay (CUP) credit cards while disguising these transactions as “hotel expenses.”

Some lenders are reporting that Star could be in voluntary administration “within months” and its “hotels carved up and sold to the highest bidders,” according to AFR.