The chairman of US casino firm Bally’s Corp, Soo Kim, has flagged a possible dismantling of the entire corporate entity of Star Entertainment Group in favor of a property-level management structure and warned that jobs are on the line as he looks to find a more sustainable path forward for the embattled Australian operator.
Having earlier this week also been named as Star’s new chairman – a move he describes as unplanned – Kim told the Australian Financial Review that change was inevitable in order to reverse the company’s flagging fortunes.
Noting that he had promised the regulator that Bally’s would decentralize Star’s operations and implement stronger property-level management, Kim reportedly told the AFR, “There has to be a change. Corporate has gone from 600 to 1,100 jobs in the last five years, which runs contrary to business finance, but is also a regulatory mandate. There are no sacred cows, and even the notion that we have a corporate office has to be examined.”
Bally’s has in a matter of weeks overseen a boardroom cleanout, with former chairman Anne Ward and Deborah Page both departing earlier this month, followed by Peter Hodgson and Toni Thornton this week. Hodgson and Thornton stepped aside after Managing Director and CEO Steve McCann’s sudden exit on Tuesday, which led to Bruce Mathieson Jr – himself only just announced as chairman – moved to the CEO role and Kim stepping in as Star’s chairman. That leaves only Kim, fellow Bally’s appointee George Papanier and Mathieson Jr, who remains an Executive Director, on the new-look Star board.
According to the AFR, Bally’s has promised more company-wide changes are coming.
“We feel a sense of urgency and obligation and responsibility to put this on the right track,” he said. “People make the assumption that we are going to sit there and make as many changes as we can. We very rarely do that [but] we are prepared to move the company forward, and that might not be for everybody.”
On the recent reshuffle following McCann’s rapid departure, Kim added, “It wasn’t the initial plan, but maybe it’s for the best. We are here and may be better for it. Obviously, we need to recruit good people onto the board and to our management team to help us move forward and execute the plans. A lot of people are depending on us to turn this company around, and we aim to take this responsibility very seriously.”
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