The Star Brisbane has postponed its 2025 Brisbane Champs poker tournament series, originally scheduled to begin Friday, July 11th, due to anticipated industrial action by staff that could disrupt operations.
The embattled Star Entertainment Group announced Wednesday that the tournament, comprising 18 events across 12 days, would be delayed following ‘potential ongoing Protected Industrial Action in Brisbane, which could impact operations over the coming period.’
Star Brisbane Casino workers escalated their protected industrial action Wednesday night, staging a four-hour strike during the State of Origin decider, one of the busiest nights of the year. The high-stakes walkout followed Friday’s first-ever strike by Star Brisbane Casino workers and comes after Star management failed to return to negotiations with an improved offer.
Workers, represented by the United Workers Union, say they have been offered a real-wage cut and have seen no progress on key issues, including a cut to Sunday penalty rates. The union says workers are left with no choice but to increase pressure on management.
In a statement posted online, the company said delivering a world-class player experience remained its top priority. ‘Due to the potential disruption from industrial action, and in the interest of maintaining the high standards our players expect and deserve, we have made the difficult decision to delay the event,’ Star said.
The postponement represents another setback for Star Entertainment Group, which has been looking to offload The Star Brisbane to its Hong Kong partners Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium pending ongoing negotiations.
Players who secured seats in the Main Event through satellite tournaments will be contacted directly and issued cash payouts instead of their entries. Those who booked on-site hotel accommodation for the series can contact the company for refunds.
Star said new dates for the tournament would be confirmed and announced in the coming weeks, promising the rescheduled event would be “a massive Brisbane Champs.”
The company operates World Poker Tour events at its Sydney and Gold Coast casinos and runs a WSOP Circuit series at The Star Sydney each November. The Brisbane venue’s poker operations have now been disrupted by the broader industrial relations issues affecting the group.
