‘More people have got to go’: Crown boss, Demetriou under fire
The head of the NSW gambling regulator has heaped pressure on Crown Resorts’ chief executive Ken Barton and high-profile director Andrew Demetriou to resign, saying more people must exit the under-siege group if it wants to open its $2.2 billion Sydney casino.
Two representatives of major shareholder James Packer resigned from Crown’s board on Wednesday after an independent report highlighted the billionaire’s harmful influence over the group as a key reason it was unfit to hold the licence to its casino at Barangaroo.
But Mr Barton and Mr Demetriou are holding out despite former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin’s report finding that Crown is unlikely to become a suitable licence-holder while they remained with the company.
NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority chair Philip Crawford said on Thursday morning that while he was pleased with Crown chair Helen Coonan’s response to the report, “more people have got to go” for Crown to reform itself.
“You can assume we’ll be talking to Ms Coonan about those matters fairly shortly,” he said.
Asked on 2GB radio if Mr Barton and Mr Demetriou needed to resign, Mr Crawford said that “when you read the report, there’s a certain obviousness about what you’re saying”.
Crown was set to open the gaming floors at its new casino in late December but ILGA blocked it from doing so after evidence of money laundering at Crown’s Melbourne and Perth casino emerged from a public inquiry.
More to come
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