The Star Entertainment Group's Sydney casino is not fit for a licence and will need some form of ongoing supervision to keep it "focused", the company's executive chair says.
The comments were made at a second inquiry into Star's suitability for its lucrative Sydney casino licence following concerns about whether long-term reforms were being introduced at the company.
"Some safeguards may be needed for the (NSW Independent Casino Commission) to make sure that we keep focused and don’t slip on delivering a plan," executive chair David Foster told the inquiry on Tuesday.
He said extending Nicholas Weeks' term as the casino's appointed manager could be an appropriate step.
The regulator appointed Mr Weeks to ensure the casino's operations continued when Star's licence was suspended in 2022 after a previous inquiry led by Adam Bell SC.
Mr Weeks delivered reports to the NSW Independent Casino Commission in October and November and to Star management in November outlining deficiencies in the operation that still needed to be addressed.
Messages between Mr Foster and then-chief executive Robbie Cooke discussing "war" with the regulator were aired earlier in the inquiry.
The messages were sent ahead of a meeting in early February between Mr Weeks, regulator Liquor and Gaming NSW and two law firms.
Despite general acceptance of his first report at a subsequent meeting, Mr Cooke and Mr Foster sent a response letter with an "extensive amount of commentary and rejection" of its content.
The February meeting, set to discuss Star's response to the letter, was monitored by the casino bosses the day prior, the second inquiry was previously told.
Mr Foster said on Tuesday he had been "trigger happy" when sending a message to Mr Cooke saying: "OK, they are prepping for war. We better do the same."
"It was a statement made in the heat of the moment," he told the inquiry, adding that emotions were heightened at the time.
"As I've reflected on it, I was a bit trigger-happy with a number of my texts."
Mr Foster said the casino had a long journey ahead to achieve cultural change.
"I think there's a sincere willingness of people to change," he said.
"They're just looking for leadership at the right level."
Mr Weeks earlier said it was extraordinary the Star leadership had been monitoring his diary entries while the casino operator was also trying to regain trust with the regulator.
In messages discussing their response to reports delivered by Mr Weeks, Mr Foster told Mr Cooke: "If done right, it could be a catalyst to get rid of (Mr) Weeks."
Mr Foster said that message had also been sent in the heat of the moment.
He and Mr Cooke had also queried grounds for launching a shareholder class action against Mr Weeks and the casino regulator, despite their public position they were working co-operatively to address deficiencies.
Asked if the idea was "bizarre", Mr Foster agreed but could not recall the specific shareholders who had proposed the class action.
The inquiry continues on Wednesday.
