Gable Tostee cries sexism following casino ban after alleged strangling
A Gold Coast man who was acquitted after being charged with murdering his Tinder date in 2014 has launched a case against The Star for banning him from the Gold Coast casino.
Eric Thomas – who changed his name from Gable Tostee in 2015 while on trial following the death of Warriena Wright – claimed he was banned from the casino because he is a man.
The banning followed an incident with a female guest in April 2022.
Staff reported entering a woman's hotel room and finding Thomas standing over her, fighting her while she was 'on her back with her dress up over her hips'.
The woman later told police Thomas had strangled her, and obtained a domestic violence order against him.
Thomas suffered bruises and bite marks, and was taken to Southport Watchhouse while the order was processed.
When applying to have the ban lifted in 2023, he told The Star that police had notified him they would not pursue charges over the alleged assault, and said the woman had suffered a 'dissociative event', which caused the incident.
He now claims the casino ban is discriminatory and attacks him because he is a man, and is seeking to overturn the decision and have his membership at The Star reinstated.
In a hearing on April 10, Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal senior member Samantha Traves refused to reinstate Thomas' membership before additional hearings later in the year, scheduled for September and November.
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The casino also facilitated high-risk transactions from 1221 customers who transferred money in and out through channels that obscured their identity, the court was told. Staff at EEIS, a Macau-based subsidiary of The Star, wrote up falsified letters for local customers wanting to send funds through the Bank of China directly to the casino, Mr Tynan continued. These letters contained false claims about the source of the funds being deposited, the barrister said. Almost $990 million in deposits were made through The Star's hotel debit cards, allowing gamblers to transfer money directly to the casino without going through an Australian bank. The cards also allowed gamblers in countries like China with restrictions on gambling to disguise their transactions by claiming they were for other purposes like hotel accommodation, Justice Moore was told. The Star advanced money to customers who complained about the 24 to 48-hour waiting period before funds hit their accounts. 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The Star was willing to offer millions in gambling credit to a known money launderer and wrote falsified letters to enable overseas bank transfers from unknown individuals. These details and many more have been exposed as financial watchdog AUSTRAC pursues the embattled casino giant in the Federal Court. The Star made "innumerable contraventions" of Australian anti-money laundering laws through its conduct, including a willingness to do business with 117 high-risk customers, barrister Daniel Tynan told a Federal Court hearing on Thursday. The casino has admitted that 70 of these customers - who were junket funders, operators or players - each posed a high money laundering risk. "They would have the opportunity to gamble that money, get the returns, wash it, do it again," Mr Tynan told Justice Cameron Moore. One of these customers, Suncity junket operator Alvin Chau, was provided with credit of up to $266.67 million. Chau funded at least 3690 junket programs at The Star's Sydney casino, bringing in a turnover of about $12.6 billion. Despite media reports linking him to overseas crime syndicates, The Star continued to engage with the Suncity head, Mr Tynan said. It was only after Chau was arrested by Macau police and hit with a number of charges - including money laundering - that the casino stopped dealing with him, the court has heard. Another customer was given almost $167 million in credit despite The Star knowing from at least 2014 that he had been involved in alleged money laundering, Mr Tynan said. The casino also facilitated high-risk transactions from 1221 customers who transferred money in and out through channels that obscured their identity, the court was told. Staff at EEIS, a Macau-based subsidiary of The Star, wrote up falsified letters for local customers wanting to send funds through the Bank of China directly to the casino, Mr Tynan continued. These letters contained false claims about the source of the funds being deposited, the barrister said. Almost $990 million in deposits were made through The Star's hotel debit cards, allowing gamblers to transfer money directly to the casino without going through an Australian bank. The cards also allowed gamblers in countries like China with restrictions on gambling to disguise their transactions by claiming they were for other purposes like hotel accommodation, Justice Moore was told. The Star advanced money to customers who complained about the 24 to 48-hour waiting period before funds hit their accounts. Individuals could also withdraw cash directly, Mr Tynan said. "This is coming in anonymously, taken out in cash - it can be used for anything." AUSTRAC is seeking $400 million in penalties over the breaches while the casino has argued it can only pay $100 million without being pushed into administration. In April, the failing casino business received a $300 million rescue package from US gaming giant Bally's Corporation. The hearing continues on Friday.
