Above and below: Nice view ... The Darling at The Star / Pic: Nic Gibson Source: The Daily Telegraph
THIS is the first look inside Sydney's pitch to win the lion's share of the $60 billion a year Australian casino high-rollers market - The Star's first completed penthouse villa at its new luxury hotel, The Darling.
The only person to stay here so far has been Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney - who used the suite last Sunday and Monday nights during his flying visit to Sydney.
For average punters who turn up off the street, the room's price tag is "more than $15,000 a night", The Star's general manager of hotels Drew Schlesinger said. He quickly added: "If you need to ask the price, this is not the place for you."
But for celebrities like Clooney or the high rollers The Star is trying to lure away from other Asian casino hotspots like Macau, it comes free of charge. Those who are eligible routinely bet hundreds of thousands in a single session.
Currently, the Sydney casino generates $15 billion a year in high-roller turnover, or 25 per cent of the market in Australia - well below Melbourne's Crown casino.
However, The Star's boss Sid Vaikunta has estimated the opening of the penthouse suites at the hotel, new high-rollers gaming rooms and new luxury planes to jet in "whales" from Asia, will help propel its share of VIP turnover above 40 per cent to $25 billion a year.
The early signs have been strong. In the four months from July 1 to October 31 - when most of The Star's main attractions had not yet opened - VIP gaming revenues rose by 15 per cent on last year. In return for a willingness to bet their fortunes, gambling VIPs receive free flights on one of The Star's two Global Express corporate jets, an at-call luxury Bentley, a media room, fireplaces, hand-made drinking glasses, a 24-hour butler, personal chefs, and virtually any other service requested.
Four other penthouses at the 171-room Darling - due to be finished in the next fortnight - will each have their own 24-hour private gaming salons, complete with blackjack table and any other casino games they want to play. Fat Prophets casino analyst Greg Fraser said this raised the spectre of VIPs "sitting at their own gaming tables in pyjamas".
Mr Schlesinger said the VIP upgrade would grow the size of the high-rollers market in Australia: "Our aim is to attract as many high-end gaming customers from anywhere in the world. It is not just targeted at Crown, but any other high-end casino internationally."
All new high-roller offerings at The Star - including a new high-rollers' room at the top of the casino's main tower - will be open by January 31.
Mr Fraser said this timing was designed to coincide with the Chinese New Year holiday.
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