All bets are off at the casino ..., by Daniel Emerson - The Sydney Morning Herald - 3rd June 2008
Maintenance workers poised to reopen Star City casino after six hours of routine electrical checks have a message for Pyrmont - get ready for a stampede.
Workers outside the casino today said the corresponding closure last year ended with traffic chaos in Pyrmont as hundreds of gamblers itching for their fix choked roads around the complex.
Ron Stewart, operations manager for Commercial Energy Services, the company contracted to carry out maintenance and upgrades to alarms and lighting systems, said workers were subjected to many a filthy look and the odd insult from punters lining up to get in last year.
"Pretty much anyone in a worker overalls copped it," he said today outside the casino.
"There were traffic jams last year, people lining up just to get in the foyer and waiting to get up the escalators.
"I hope to be out of here by that time today. I couldn't get out of the place last year."
The casino set up flashing signs on roads around Pyrmont this week and last week to warn gamblers of the closure between 9am and 3pm today, but a quick walk around the complex today proved that many didn't get the memo.
"It's not open 'til three mate - bloody annoying," offered one man before shuffling away, apparently walking laps around the premises.
A procession of foreign gambling hopefuls looked confused and occasionally agitated as they approached every entrance on Pirrama Road and Jones Bay Road only to be repeatedly denied by plastic tape and security guards.
Star City hotel front office assistant manager Ryan Patterson said there were only a few gamblers on the casino floor when staff asked them to leave this morning and all of them went quietly.
Guests who arrived at the hotel to check in were being directed to the nearby Maritime Museum cafe on Murray Street for free coffee and cake, he said.
A Star City spokeswoman said the casino had not estimated how much lost revenue the six-hour closure would cause.
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