Sydney Casino Sues Asian High Rollers For $23 Million

A Sydney casino is currently suing 10 Asian high rollers who ran up $23 million worth of credit gambling but have since failed to pay their bill.
Apparently, the group of Asian “whales” were introduced to The Star Casino by a gambling tour operator called SilkStar, which has since gone bust, also owing the casino a further $7 million. The case was filed in the New South Wales Supreme Court back in February, and commenting on the situation, The Star Casino’s parent company, Echo Entertainment, said:
“As at 31 May 2012, the total write off and impairment provision taken against these customers amounts to $22.9 million. Echo will however continue to vigorously pursue all possible avenues to recover the monies outstanding from these customers.”
The list of high rollers includes Macau businessman Chin Meng Pun, as well as a veritable number of Thai businessmen and property developers. The 10 people have been named as Kok Wah Tee, Nattachai Srirungsukpinij, Liong Chong Yap, Phatsita Kiratiphatthananan, Krairurg Kodcha, Kau Lan, Chin Meng Pun, Pimchaya Wattanakulyothin,  Vissanu Wiangnak, and Somboon Srisombattanakit,
Meanwhile, Australian billionaire businessman James Packer has been trying to have Star Casino chairman John Story removed from the board for a while now, and the latest $30 million bad debt seems to have provided him with some extra ammunition. James Packer has even been running a series of daily newspaper advertisements urging shareholders to replace Mr Story with Jeff Kennett, with the latest ad stating:
“Echo wrote off $29.9 million associated with the liquidation of a marketing partner and bad debts – highlighting concerns about credit control at The Star.”
It seems that Mr Packer’s tactic may now be working, as an investors meeting this week discussed the possibility of John Story resigning. As Echo Entertainment Group chairman John Story later explained:
“The basis of the proposal was the concern that James Packer was threatening to do damage to Echo on an ongoing basis, it wasn’t a concern in relation to my chairmanship, it was about diffusing the situation.”