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Journal · history

From Jupiters to The Star: forty-one years on Broadbeach Island

A short history built mainly on secondary sources, clearly marked — and on the resort's own pages for what stands there now.

Published 29 October 2026 · facts checked 29 October 2026

Most of the history below comes from Wikipedia and the newspapers it cites, which we treat as secondary sources. Where the resort's own pages confirm a fact for today, we say so.

1985: Queensland's first casino

The complex opened on 22 November 1985 as Conrad Jupiters, with an official opening in February 1986. Contemporary reports put 10,000 people at the opening. It was Queensland's first casino, built beside the Nerang River at a cost of A$210 million, and at the time it was described as Australia's largest hotel. The Conrad name came from Hilton's international brand; the hotel was later known simply as Jupiters Hotel & Casino.

A name from the goldfields

The company name Jupiters honours Jupiter Mosman, an Aboriginal man credited with finding a large quantity of gold in North Queensland in 1871. It is a small, often forgotten detail in a place now known for a very different kind of glitter.

The theatre and the floors

In 2006 the two gaming floors were combined into one and, by 2008, 442 hotel rooms had been refurbished. In 2008 the venue stopped producing its own shows and began hosting touring productions. The theatre itself reopened in June 2012 after a $20 million rebuild that added a balcony level, a mechanical thrust stage and a projection booth. Today the resort describes The Star Theatre as taking up to 2,150 people seated and standing.

2015–2017: a new tower and a new name

Work on a $345 million redevelopment, including a new 17-storey tower, began in August 2015, and in 2017 the resort was rebranded The Star Gold Coast. The Darling, an all-suite hotel, followed with 56 suites; the resort's own page confirms that figure and calls it the group's second Darling, after Sydney.

Today: four hotels and a precinct

On the resort's pages in October 2026 the line-up is The Star Grand with 592 rooms, The Darling, The Star Residences in Towers 1 and 2, and the 313-room Dorsett Gold Coast. A retail promenade along the Residences towers was being leased from mid-2026. The resort is linked to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre next door, which The Star manages for the Queensland Government.

  1. 1985 Conrad Jupiters opens (secondary).
  2. 2006–2008 Casino refurbished, 442 rooms renewed (secondary).
  3. 2012 Theatre reopens after a $20 million rebuild (secondary).
  4. 2015 $345 million redevelopment begins (secondary).
  5. 2017 Rebranded The Star Gold Coast (secondary).
  6. 2022 Queensland disciplinary action and a Special Manager appointed (official).
  7. 2026 Licence suspension deferred to 31 March 2027 (official).

Sources read for this page on 29 October 2026 (official pages unless marked secondary):

Room request desk · The Star Gold Coast

Ask our desk for a room on Broadbeach Island

Three short steps: dates, the room you have in mind, where to reply. Our desk takes it from there.

  1. 1 · Dates
  2. 2 · Room
  3. 3 · You
When, and how many of you
Which room, and anything we should know
Where we should reply

How it works: the request goes to this site's booking desk, not to the hotel. We check availability and the current rate with the hotel's reservations team or a booking partner and answer by email. We never ask for card details here, and a request is not a booking.

If your request turns into a confirmed stay, the hotel or the booking partner that completes it pays us a commission. You pay nothing extra for asking. How we earn.

Received. Our desk now checks the dates with the hotel's reservations team or a booking partner and replies by email, usually within one business day. Nothing is booked or charged until you say yes to an offer.

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