Star Sydney Gambler Loses More Than 650k, Gets Banned

Posted on: July 12, 2022, 10:34h. 

Last updated on: July 12, 2022, 12:00h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Kim Huyen Tran Nguyen feels as though Star Entertainment is treating her unfairly after she lost AU$950,000 (US$642,000) at its Star Sydney casino. The operator subsequently banned her, and she wants a court to give her a shot at winning back her money.

Star Sydney
Star Entertainment’s Star Sydney in New South Wales at night. The casino faces a lawsuit for banning a gambler who lost more than $650,000. (Image: Focus Gaming News)

Nguyen is suing Star to dismiss or stay the case. She claims, according to Mail Online, that the casino banned her from the casino and withdrew her membership without explanation. She also accused the venue of making misleading statements about the police.

The Star Sydney doesn’t see it that way. Instead, it wants a court to dismiss the lawsuit and, at the very least, to receive compensation for its legal expenses.

Banned for Losing

Casinos typically only ban certain people when they start to win too much. In this case, Nguyen, a beauty therapist in western Sydney, claims that she was given a verbal ban with no end date in April of last year.

Nguyen asserts that she had no choice but to accept the ban because of COVID-19 and other family issues. However, she now filed a claim in the New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court to get the ban overturned. She claimed that the ban is also keeping her from becoming a travel host at the casino.

She also wants to go back to the casino to recuperate the money she lost gambling. In addition, there’s a matter of AU$2,500 (US$1,692) that she said she had in her account when Star issued the ban. The casino never returned that money to her.

Nguyen will fight Star’s attempt to end the lawsuit. But, at the very least, she expects a hearing in court where all of the evidence, including the reason for the ban, can be put in the open.

Star VIP Causing Trouble

The lawyers at Star are busy with several legal battles. In addition to the ongoing drama stemming from accusations of money laundering, the legal team is going after a VIP for more than AU$12 million (US$8.12 million) in outstanding debt.

Star is suing Jingang Hu in NSW Supreme Court in an attempt to recuperate its losses. The high roller allegedly cashed a check for $13.2 million in July 2019. However, in spite of the gambler’s assertions that he had money in the bank account to cover the funds, the check later bounced.

As a result, Star has been sitting on bad debt ever since. Hu allegedly repaid part of the money, but Star claims he still owes AU$10.7 million (US$7.25 million). It also wants another AU$1.3 million (US$881,010) in interest, as well as all legal costs the operator has to pay to recover its losses.