Banned Gambler Sues The Star Casino After Losing $950,000

Kim Huyen Tran Nguyen, a beauty therapist, lost AUD$950,000 at The Star casino in Sydney. Nguyen was banned from The Star casino for one year in April 2021. Nguyen is suing The Star casino in the New South Wales Supreme Court to overturn the ban. The Star casino is being sued by Nguyen for allegedly making misleading statements to police and holding $2,500 of her funds. The Star casino has asked the court to dismiss Nguyen's lawsuit and award them legal costs.

The Star casino is embroiled in multiple controversial incidents, including allowing underage gambling and a money-laundering operation. In one instance, a 12-year-old girl was found to be playing pokies (poker-themed slot machines) while another involved a 17-year-old boy who bought alcohol and played both roulette and poker over a three-hour visit - which included 15 interactions with staff. More serious cases include a money-laundering operation being run from a private salon in the casino, CCTV footage from 2018 showing a Macau-based junket operator, Suncity, placing stacks of cash into bags. Last year, a baccarat dealer was jailed for two years after carrying out an illegal betting scam at The Star, cheating the casino out of roughly AUD$500,000 by sending messages to an accomplice that revealed which cards were due to appear next.

Although Hu partially repaid the funds, The Star claims it is still owed $10.7 million, plus $1.3 million in interest, and is also seeking its legal costs.