Latest news with #SkyCityCasino
India Today
10-07-2025
- India Today
Poker-addicted Indian-origin engineer jailed in New Zealand over $1-million scam
A 27-year-old, Indian-origin engineer has been sentenced to two years and two months in prison for what is reported to be one of the largest public sector thefts on record in New Zealand. Shyamal Sushil Shah developed a gambling addiction which began at SkyCity Casino and escalated into him participating in underground poker rings, eventually leading him to file 40 fake invoices out of desperation to repay debts, fearing for his safety from borrowers, according to the New Zealand Sushil Shah pleaded guilty to a representative charge of obtaining by deception at Auckland District District Court Judge Kate Davenport on Wednesday rejected his applications for home detention and bail during the appeal, describing his actions as a "significant breach of trust", according to the New Zealand Herald. The scheme, described by the judge as one of the largest public sector thefts in New Zealand, involved Shah creating fake invoices for non-existent SHAH SUBMITTED FRAUDULENT INVOICESShah, a water network engineer with Auckland Council's Watercare, submitted fraudulent invoices under the names "Gardener Construction" and "Ben Gardener", directing payments to his own bank account. Contractors, unaware of the deception, paid these invoices believing them to be for genuine work conducted by subcontractors, which led to inflated expenses borne by the Watercare, according to the New Zealand Herald report, citing court lawyer, David Jones KC, acknowledged the companies were "bogus"."The fraudulent costs were subsequently included in the contractor's total project cost. Consequently, the defendant's (Sushil Shah) fraud increased total project costs, which the victim (Auckland Council) ultimately paid," the newspaper to the report, the engineer filed 40 bogus invoices worth $1,039,146 (approximately Rs 8.67 crore) before his arrest in ENGINEER PROMISED TO PAY BACK MONEYThe defendant has not repaid any money yet but told the court he plans to return about half in the coming months using his KiwiSaver, a loan from his parents, and an advance from his new is a voluntary retirement savings scheme in New Zealand, allowing access under certain conditions like retirement, first-home purchase, or financial to the NZ Herald, Shah's gambling habit began at SkyCity Casino and worsened after he became involved with an illegal poker lawyer told the court that Shah resorted to fraud under pressure to repay debts he was threatened over. "Once you're involved, it's very hard to escape," the defence lawyer burning through his savings, he turned to crime out of desperation, the defence suggested, according to the New Zealand Davenport settled on an end sentence of two years and two months' imprisonment, after allowing 55% in discounts for his guilty plea, previous good character, remorse, rehabilitation efforts and his offer to pay the money back, the New Zealand Herald reported.- Ends
Otago Daily Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Council gives nod to gambling application
A new Queenstown gambling application has been approved by councillors despite a recommendation to turn it down in order to minimise harm. Aotearoa Gaming Trust Incorporated submitted an application over a month ago to run up to nine gaming machines and establish a TAB venue as part of an existing tavern in Ballarat St. The application was presented to the council on Thursday, prompting a discussion among councillors as to whether it should be turned down to reduce gambling sites in the city and minimise their negative impacts. The report presented to the council during its monthly meeting recommended that consent be declined. One of the main reasons for this recommendation was due to a district-wide policy dictating that gambling venues cannot be within 50m of each other. The policy was reviewed last year under the Gambling Act by the council which had put in place the 50m rule as a way to reduce the harm of gambling. However, it was not made clear in the policy if the 50m would be measured from the edge of the licensing area or from the store front. As part of its application, the gaming trust indicated the distance between the tavern and the SkyCity Casino is about 56m. The report presented to the council chose to measure the distance from door to door, which was about 48m. The argument made to the council was that the issue of distance was enough grounds to decline the application and in doing so, support harm minimisation. Councillor Niki Gladding defended the decision to approve the consent. She said distance alone was not enough to decline the application and left room for the applicant to challenge the council's decision through a judicial review, a process that would come at a cost to the rate payers. "I'm not a fan of gambling. It's just simply that we have to be fair," she said. "If we've got a policy and people are operating within the policy, then we can't decline this because we don't like gambling." Melissa White was one of three councillors to vote in favour of declining the consent as she hoped to uphold the intentions of the policy to reduce gambling sites. "I know that the intent of the policy was not to increase the amount of gambling, and it was to limit it," she said. ". . . it comes down to the policy not being clear how that 50m is defined. I chose to define it as in a radius from the current one, and others chose not to." With only three votes against granting the consent, the application will go through to the next stage of the consenting process.
Techday NZ
05-06-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Gallagher Security hosts record-breaking user event in Adelaide
Gallagher Security hosted its bi-annual User Group event in Adelaide, Australia, with attendance exceeding 100 security professionals, marking its largest gathering to date. The two-day event took place at SkyCity Casino and focused on delivering insights, networking opportunities, and practical training for end users of Gallagher Security's suite of security solutions. The event included expert-led discussions and product demonstrations aimed at helping participants make the best use of the company's offerings. Themed "Unlock More", this year's User Group sought to encourage participants to broaden their knowledge, strengthen industry connections, and gain insights into current developments in the security sector. Nicola Johnson, National Events Manager – Australia, described the objectives of the event, saying, "GSUG is a key fixture on our calendar of events, and this year we successfully equipped attendees with the latest Gallagher Security knowledge while fostering collaboration among peers, industry leaders, and technology partners." Designed to add value for end users, the User Group programme featured a curated agenda of guest speaker sessions, networking opportunities, product demonstrations, interactive breakout workshops, and training sessions. According to Nicola Johnson, "Our curated agenda included guest speakers, networking sessions, product demonstrations, interactive breakout workshops, and training workshops, which provided a fantastic opportunity to share Gallagher expertise with the industry." Speakers from Gallagher Security included Technical Director – Asia Pacific and India, Middle East, and Africa (APAC & IMEA) Mike Margrain; Training Manager – APAC & IMEA, Danielle Mitchell; National Technical Account Manager – Australia, Dean Matheson; National High Security and Federal Manager – Australia, Karl Harris; and Sales Manager – South Australia and Northern Territory, Keith Neville. Members of Gallagher Security's Head Office Product Team in New Zealand also participated, such as Andrew Scothern, Chief Architect; Scott Ridder, Value Stream Lead – Enterprise; Steve Bell, Chief Technology Officer; and Tyson Barnett, Product Manager – Credentials. External keynote speakers included representatives from public infrastructure, consultancy, higher education, and energy sectors. These were David Carroll, Lead Technology Platforms for the City of Adelaide; David Kameniar, Senior Associate, Operations & Commercial, De Stefano & Co; Jeremy Watkinson, Head of Protective Security Services, De Stefano & Co; Jodie Lowe, Senior Product Owner for ID Card Technology at the University of Sydney; Sean Judge, Manager Physical and Cyber Security at Australian Naval Infrastructure; and Tara Turner, Security and Compliance Systems Coordinator at Loy Yang B Power Station. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with technology partner exhibitors including ASSA ABLOY, Entrust, IDEMIA, Milestone Systems, Motorola Solutions, and Traka. These partners were on hand to showcase integrations and new solutions within the security technology field. Nicola Johnson said, "Attendees took the opportunity to connect with Technology Partners including ASSA ABLOY, Entrust, IDEMIA, Milestone Systems, Motorola Solutions, and Traka who exhibited their latest solutions and integrations with Gallagher." One of the focal points of the event was a Technology Partner Panel session that highlighted ongoing collaborative work in the security technology space. On this topic, Nicola Johnson stated, "It was fantastic to take stock of the security industry during this inspiring panel discussion featuring Rob Galic (National Sales Manager, ASSA ABLOY), Tony Pastore (Key Account Manager, Milestone Systems), and Mike Duffield (Sales Principal, Rapid)." Training workshops were a practical component of the agenda, offering sessions on subjects such as emergency evacuation and mobile evacuation procedures, alarms and alarm viewers, and creating and assigning competencies within the Gallagher Command Centre platform. Nicola Johnson explained, "Our GSUG workshops were specifically designed to showcase valuable insights into key Gallagher product features and support End Users to maximise the potential of their Command Centre solutions." Reflecting on the success of the event, Nicola Johnson commented, "This reflects both the long-term relationships Gallagher Security has established in Australia as well as the interest that lies in our innovative, world-leading security solutions."
