Former Bally’s executive Ameet Patel named Dual CEO of The Star Brisbane and The Star Gold Coast
by Ben Blaschke
The Star Gold Coast
14
SHARES
346
VIEWS
Australia’s Star Entertainment Group has announced the appointment of former Bally’s Corp executive Ameet Patel as Dual CEO of its two Queensland integrated resorts – The Star Brisbane and The Star Gold Coast.
In a social media post, the company described Patel as a “senior executive with extensive experience in gaming, hospitality and operations leadership across multiple regions,” and someone who “specializes in strategic planning, process redesign, financial analysis, talent development and operational efficiencies.”
He previously served as President at Bally’s Chicago and as SVP of Regional Operations at Penn International with a focus on growth, stakeholder relations and team building in highly regulated environments, according to Star.
Ameet Patel (left) previously served as President of Bally’s Chicago
It added that Patel has been responsible for all aspects of the group’s gaming operations across multiple US markets, overseeing strategic initiatives, operational standards and day-to-day performance.
“We look forward to working with Ameet as we continue to strengthen our leadership capability across The Star,” said Star Entertainment Group CEO and Managing Director, Bruce Mathieson.
Patel’s appointment to oversee Star’s Brisbane properties comes after another former Bally’s executive, John Koster, was recently named CEO of The Star Sydney.
Bally’s Corp, in partnership with the Mathieson family’s Investment Holdings Pty Ltd, assumed a controlling 61% stake in Star late last year, with Bally’s chair Soo Kim now also serving as Star’s Chairman and Bally’s President George Papanier a Star director.
The new-look Star recently locked in a deal originally negotiated under the former management team to offload its 50% stake in The Star Brisbane to Hong Kong partners Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium, although the arrangement will see Star continue to operate the Brisbane property’s casino under a management arrangement.
Star also announced earlier this month that it had closed a vital refinancing deal with Whitehawk Capital Partners.