Excitement is mounting in Queensland about the progress of the $3.6 billion Star Entertainment Resort which is currently under construction and on track to open in 100-weeks’ time. The Queen’s Wharf Brisbane is set to be a mega-complex that incorporates hotel and casino facilities, bars, cafes, restaurants, and around 2,000 residential apartments, 90% of which have already been sold!
The complex is set to boost the state’s economy positively from late in 2022 onwards, just in time to help it recoup from economic losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which we hope will be over and done with by then.
Not only is the resort expected to pull in 1.4 million visitors each year but will create jobs for at least 8,000 people connected to the facility in one way or another. Even now, 600 workers are currently employed and busy on the construction site, 85% of which are local. The worker compliment is expected to increase to around 2,000 people by mid to late next year, which is fantastic news for employment statistics.
The Deputy Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, Dr Steven Miles, was complimentary of the hard-working staff contingent on-site when he visited the location with executives from the Star Entertainment group recently. He said:
“All the workers, not just those on-site, but those involved across the South East, deserve a pat on the back for their efforts – having safely not missed a beat in this COVID-19 -impacted environment.’’
This project represents a silver lining for the hard-hit economy that could benefit greatly from tourist attractions of this stature.
On the Bright Side
This exciting, good news comes at the tail end of a very rough year for the Australian gambling industry. Casinos have just been given the green light to operate again, albeit at a limited capacity.
Star Entertainment Group should be commended on their fortitude in weathering the storm and maintaining a 100% employment retention during the year. While many of these staff members were on job keepers’ payments, all 3,500 workers across the group’s facilities are now back at work.
Gambling entertainment is still a bit restricted though, as casino facilities may only host 100 gamblers at a time right now. This means that long queues and frustrated customers are likely to be the norm at venues across the country for the next while still.
Online Answers All
While land-based gamblers wait for better days and we all look forward to the moment that grand casino resorts, like the new Queens Wharf, are up and running and can operate at full capacity, Australian players can still enjoy online casino games.
There are many fully operable Aussie-friendly online casinos offering pokies, table games, and the like. In this current environment, the online casino business is exploding, and more and more Australians are seeking out first-class content on their desktop and mobile devices.