Morris keeps door open as Arnaout’s Reef Casino deal hits delay
Hotelier Chris Morris is still keen on Reef Casino Trust, despite losing out to rival operator Sam Arnaout in a $200 million-plus tussle for the Cairns asset earlier this year.
The two hospitality heavyweights spent much of the year vying for control of the trust, which owns the Reef Hotel Casino and the 128-room Pullman-branded hotel on the waterfront site in Cairns. Arnaout eventually came out on top in August.
But the deal is now on ice. Earlier this week, Reef Casino Trust revealed that Arnaout’s Iris Cairns Property acquisition has been pushed back, with completion now not expected until at least May 31 next year.
Iris Capital already owns casinos in Canberra and Alice Springs, along with more than 60 pubs and hotels. It had secured the backing of major unitholders, including Accor and Casinos Austria International. However, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) has flagged that its probity checks on Iris under the Casino Control Act 1982 won’t be wrapped up by the current offer deadline of March 13, 2026.
“Investigations are ongoing and decisions are not expected before the end of May 2026,” the Reef Casino Trust said in a statement to the ASX on Tuesday.
That delay has left the door ajar for underbidder Morris, the high-profile Queensland entrepreneur, Computershare founder and executive chairman of Morris Group. Speaking to The Australian, he noted: “We understand the level of scrutiny in a Queensland suitability investigation so a delay in OLGR being able to make a decision is not surprising.
“We believe a process with Morris Group would have been much faster, benefiting shareholders, as we already have a license in Queensland. Morris Group remains interested if the opportunity arises,” Morris said.
Arnaout, a former panel beater who has rapidly built a national hospitality portfolio, has been busy on other fronts too – in May he moved beyond pubs and hotels with the $450m purchase of Sydney’s St Ives Shopping Village. He is yet to secure a casino foothold in Queensland.
Morris, on the other hand, is already entrenched in the state’s gaming and resort scene. His Morris Group owns The Ville Resort-Casino in Townsville and the new Ardo hotel, along with Orpheus and Pelorus Islands and a fleet of helicopters that service his growing tourism and luxury hospitality interests.
Jonathan Jackson, 27th November 2025
