Simon McGrath bows out of Crown Sydney

Simon McGrath, the current chief executive officer of Crown Sydney, will be stepping down from his post in September, after serving in the position for what will be seven months. McGrath was appointed in February this year, and he has a rich experience in the hospitality sector.

He worked as general manager of Sofitel Reef Casino Cairns in 2005 and moved on to become a VP of Operations for the entire Pacific region for Accor in 2012. McGrath was responsible for nearly 400 hotels and 18,000 employees during his stint, but admittedly – his focused lied on hospitality more so than gaming. He also became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019, owing to his significant and notable efforts in promoting Australian tourism.

But even a knight may sometimes need to leave his post and pass on the baton to someone else. McGrath’s replacement comes after Blackstone Group acquired Crown Resorts, the company that owns Crown Sydney, as the new owner seeks for an individual who is better versed in the gaming sector. A spokesperson for the casino cited by The Sydney Morning Herald said:

"Simon has made an important contribution to Crown Sydney during his time as CEO, including overseeing the successful opening of Australia’s only VIP members-only casino, and we wish him all the best for the future."

Blackstone Group is clearly determined to bring its gaming operations up to scratch. The Group hired Cairan Carruthers, a former Wynn Macau Resort COO, to fill in for Steve McCann, the now outgoing Crown Resorts chief executive. The move is not exactly surprising as Blackstone Group is looking to achieve two things here.

On the first hand, it wants to limit the possibility of the events of 2019 to repeat themselves. This is referring to the investigative work done by The Sydney MorningHerald and The Age into Crown Resorts' ties with infamous criminal syndicates. Blackstone Group wants to assure that it has a person at the helm who properly understandsthe gaming sector.

Carruthers is well-versed in regulation as Macau is one of the toughest markets anywhere in the world operating under the strict eye of China. McGrath’s successor will have to be equally experienced in the gaming sector and ensure that anything that happens on the gaming floor is well in line with the country’s rules and regulations.

Probes into Crown Resorts and now Star Entertainment have triggered vast changes to the gambling framework which will hopefully lead to better and more reliable gaming floors across Australia for all.

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