Star Entertainment has planned to expand the ageing Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast. Originally, the plan was a $850 million redevelopment of the existing casino which would include two towers. Now, the plan has been expanded and there may be a total of four towers, along with a pedestrian bridge to the Pacific Fair mall.
With the new plans, the Gold Coast casino resort project could be bigger than the resort that Star Entertainment has planned for Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane, which will span six city blocks. Matt Bekier, Managing Director of Star Entertainment Group, believes that there is enough room on the Gold Coast to allow for this casino expansion.
"The master plan is setting out the full potential of the site," he says. “If it makes economic sense to build this, then there is no reason why we should be advancing all the other developments as quickly as we possibly can.” The plans to expand Jupiters Casino will make it a much more attractive option to high-roller tourists that visit the Gold Coast.
However, the property will have to compete with the new casino that is being built on The Spit by ASF Consortium. There have been rumours circulating that Crown Resorts will be working with ASF to build the new venue, which would make Crown and Star Entertainment rivals in the same city yet again. Construction on the newly expanded casino resort from Star Entertainment will begin in 2017.
The first tower, which will be located on the ocean side of the casino, will feature a 700-room hotel. Based on the demand of the initial tower, Star Entertainment will build additional towers at 2-year intervals. If this happens, there may be one tower that is made up of mostly residential apartments and one that is a hotel on its own. The other towers will be a mix of service apartments and hotel rooms.
This is a very exciting time for the Gold Coast. Never before has the location been seen as a gambling destination for high roller tourists – but, Star Entertainment as ASF Consortium will help to transform the area. Not only will this benefit the economy by creating jobs; it will also help to create thousands of jobs for local residents.