Casino Bus Maps - The Cash Cow Suburbs

Where does the casino pick up punters in Sydney? (2011 data)

Inspired by the SMH article “Casino buses in migrants who hope ‘to live beyond their means” (Heath Aston; December 11, 2011), we created a series of maps to show the influence of The Star casino on migrant communities in Sydney.

According to New Matilda article “Clubs Australia Knows Its Heartland” (Benjamin Law; 15 Apr 2011), studies have shown an increased prevalence of gambling problems in Asian-Australian communities.

The Star Express shuttle bus network operates on routes between The Star casino and targeted suburbs across greater Sydney. Ten routes service many suburbs that have high migrant population from non-English speaking backgrounds.

We geocoded the casino’s Star Express Timetable and plotted the stops on maps showing the distribution of non-english speaking populations in Sydney.

How to read the maps

• ● The Star (casino)

• ● Casino bus stop

  • Size: number of pick-ups

  • Opacity: the darker the circle, the shorter the waiting time

• — line connecting bus stops

• – – line connecting last bus stop to casino

♦♦♦Languages other than English spoken at home (male) as % of population **Max:**30%

♦♦♦Chinese spoken at home (male) as % of population**Max:**14%

♦♦♦Vietnamese spoken at home (male) as % of population**Max:**9%

♦♦♦Korean spoken at home (male) as % of population**Max:**3%

♦♦♦Arabic spoken at home (male) as % of population**Max:**11%

♦♦♦Greek spoken at home (male) as % of population**Max:**5%

Star Express Routes in Sydney

Suburbs in which Asian/Chinese populations congregate; for example: Hurstville, Chatswood, Carlingford, Ashfield, Strathfield, and Maroubra have visibily more bus stops.

Suburbs that have relatively lower proportions of non-English speaking residents (usually of a higher income) are seemingly ignored by the Star Express. Notably, the eastern suburbs (eg: Coogee, Bondi, Vaucluse), inner west (eg: Balmain, Glebe), South Sydney, Sutherland Shire, and North Shore (eg: Mosman, Manly).

Route 88 88 symbolises fortune and good luck in Chinese culture. It’s no surprise the casino runs the most frequent service near Chinatown (Haymarket) - 34 pick-ups per day with an average waiting time of 28 minutes.