Ann: NSW Casino Duty Rates Update, page-52

Just a few points CBRMaroon,

The change to the Casino Tax amount and rollout was not a bailout in any traditional sense. Bailouts are usually cash injections or promises thereof by the state or central banks i.e. those offered to US and British banks during the 2008 Credit Crunch, the NZ Govt $9 billion loan to Air New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic. SGR isn't actually receiving money from the NSW Labor Government. This is essentially a deferred and renegotiated tax schedule. It looks like I am nit-picking but it is an important distinction.

What I think the SGR board has done has played a high stakes media game - in its press releases threaten the current NSW Government with the potential loss of one of its two Sydney casinos and resultant catastrophic loss of 500 jobs in an effort to postpone the tax and bring the Treasurer to the negotiating table. It is a risky "take your ball home"-style play - the state government could easily have just passed the law anyway or taken SGR's suspended license and given it to someone else. However it has worked - even with all the future fines to be imposed SGR will now have a route to survive this and keep the Star Casino open.

I am a bit unsure about the share price short term TBH. It went up 18% yesterday but concerns about declining retail spending haven't gone away and there may be volatility depending on what the annual report states when it gets released. However over the long term I am more settled about SGR's prospects since yesterday's announcement.