Crown Resorts revealed that the position of its Chief Executive Officer Ken Barton was still under consideration following the Commissioner’s report into the Australian casino giant’s operations found him unfit for the job. A few days ago, the report of former New South Wales supreme court judge Patricia Bergin SC was made public. The inquiry into money laundering allegations faced by Crown Resorts found that the company was not suitable to hold the licence for its new Barangaroo casino resort, putting the venue’s operation in jeopardy.
The statement regarding CEO Barton’s fate was unveiled along with the news that Andrew Demetriou has resigned from the company’s board of directors.
The news of the resignation comes after the NSW gambling regulatory body has called for Crown Resorts to fire both Mr Demetriou and CEO Ken Barton following the results of the independent probe held into the company’s operations that found it unfit to run the Barangaroo casino.
Keeping this into account, Mr Barton had very much left to do but to take responsibility for the gambling giant’s problems. After he had a meeting with the Board’s chair Helen Coonan, he was expected to make an announcement that he is stepping down from his position in Crown Resorts. Instead, the company revealed that the matter was still under consideration.
Barton’s Departure Is Only a Matter of Time, Analysts Say
According to some of the Crown Resorts’ investors, the resignation of the company’s CEO was only a matter of time and the fact that such an announcement had not been made yet was probably due to the need of finding a replacement and make changes to the existing company’s structure.
Reportedly, a failure to resolve the issue could put an end to the Australian gambling giant’s hopes to soon open its new Barangaroo casino after waiting for quite some time to make it operational. Now, the company is likely checking on whether it can quickly find a replacement for the job or expand the role of Chair Helen Coonan so that she takes over the executive responsibilities as well.
As Casino Guardian reported, the latest inquiry commissioned by the New South Wales state found the gambling operator unsuitable for holding the operating licence for its Barangaroo waterfront casino. In the final report of Commissioner Bergin that was made public earlier this week Barton was found an inappropriate match for the needs of the company, especially if it wants to keep its casino licence. As the report stated, the NSW gambling regulatory body could not be confident in dealing with Barton as CEO.
Since Commissioner Bergin’s report was published on Tuesday, Mr Demetriou became the third victim of the unfavourable assessment received by Crown Resorts, with two other directors of the company’s 11-member board stepped down.
Yesterday, a separate regulator that has monitored the Melbourne-based casino of Crown Resorts shared that it had called on Mr Barton to provide an explanation of why he should be formally considered a worthy associate of Crown Melbourne.
- Author
Olivia Cole
