Star Entertainment on the brink of collapse as the casino group faces imminent cash depletion by the weekend

Insiders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, have told the ABC that Star's directors have become increasingly nervous about keeping the ailing gaming group afloat in the absence of any debt refinancing or recapitalisation of the company.

They have refused to sign off on the accounts, which has put the group in breach of its financial reporting obligations, preventing it from resuming trade on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Insolvency group FTI has been briefed to assume management control of the company. But if a sale of the assets has proved problematic, an administration could be just as complex.

The NSW government owns the property upon which the flagship Sydney casino, adjoining hotel and theatre are built, thereby giving it security over those assets.

But most of the bank debt within the group is secured over the newly built Brisbane casino and its adjoining Queen's Wharf development.

If directors do opt to call in FTI as administrator, the banking syndicate could apply to have a separate administrator or even a receiver appointed to run the Queensland asset sales.

Another complication is that, in his desperate bid to stitch up a rescue package, recently appointed chief executive Steve McCann has run the kitty bare.

That could make an administration, which ordinarily would cost in the tens of millions of dollars, a tough grind with no fees available until after the business or its assets had been sold.

Still searching for a deal

The ABC has been told that Mr McCann has refused to throw in the towel.

He is still pursuing a deal with at least one party that would refinance the company's loans.

Two private equity firms remain in the mix. American outfit Oaktree Capital offered a $650 million refinancing package — essentially taking the banks out of the mix at a discount — a fortnight ago.

A local but as yet unnamed private equity group also has expressed an interest.

Refinancing the debt would be the least painful option for Star as this would not require regulatory approval or the strict probity checks required of an equity investor, which could take months.

US casino operator Bally's made overtures and last month reportedly sent a delegation to Australia to pursue a deal.

But even if they signed this week, approval would not be forthcoming until at least May, a prospect that has sent Mr McCann in pursuit of bridging finance.

It is more likely that all those circling, including Star's two Chinese partners in Queen's Wharf and Bally's in Sydney, are now waiting to pick up the assets under an administrator run auction.