The Star ploughs $850M to revive ageing Jupiters casino as Tony Fung designs new Gold Coast complex

The battle to become Australia’s top casino operator is heating up.

In one side of the ring is The Star Entertainment Group, which continues its aggressive push to expand its presence in the country. This week, several media outlets reported that the Australia-listed casino operator and its Hong Kong partners are investing AU$850 million to build a 200-meter tower at its ageing Jupiters casino on the Gold Coast.

The expansion masterplan, worth an estimated $2 billion, will include 350 apartments and 700 hotel rooms of 4.5-star quality, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Construction is expected to begin in 2017, and The Star will add four more towers “at two-year intervals depending on demand for the initial tower.”

The Star CEO Matt Bekier told the news outlet: “We will only develop the additional towers when we get the demand proven up through pre-sales. Once you have the pre-sales, you can pre-fund it and build it and it will give you the confidence that you can go again.”