The short-term future of tournament poker at Star’s Sydney and Gold Coast casinos appears to be in serious doubt after the company’s two most senior poker managers were this week made redundant
Martin Coughlan, Star’s long-time Group Poker Strategy Manager, and Brett Carter, National Poker Marketing Manager, officially clocked off at the conclusion of the Sydney Champs on Tuesday evening – victims of a company-wide purge of senior executives under the group’s new ownership team, led by Bally’s Corp.
The significant reduction in senior staff had previously been flagged by Bally’s and Star Chairman Soo Kim as necessary in order to reverse the significant losses Star has experienced since a raft of new operating restrictions were imposed following a 2022 inquiry into its conduct. The Star Sydney continues to operate with a suspended license and under the purview of a government-appointed Manager.
PokerMedia Australia understands the Gold Coast Champs, which had been tentatively scheduled for June, will not take place although discussions are ongoing around larger events like WPT Australia and the recently announced NSW Shot Clocks Super Stacks, also scheduled for June.
The news of Coughlan and Carter’s departure comes on the back of a successful Sydney Champs series over the past week, which generated almost $4 million in prize pools including a Main Event field of 722 entries.
Sydney local Michael Zhang took down the Main Event and a first prize of $228,317.
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