The development, which will accommodate 12,000 guests, will not cause impacts significant enough to require a federal assessment, they say.

A huge resort planned for northern Queensland does not require a federal environmental assessment, its supporters claim, even though it will include two casinos, eight accommodations, a golf course, and a 33-hectare lake that will be filled with a 2.2-km pipeline from the Great Barrier Reef They claim that the project will be built on odds.ph.

The $8 billion Aquis project planned for Yorkeys Knob, north of Cairns, is described as "Australia's only truly integrated, world-class resort."

The 340-hectare resort is backed by Hong Kong investor Tony Fung, who bought Cairns casino operator Reef Casino Trust last year.The full details of Fung's investment and acquisition of Reef Casino Trust can be found in the linked site.

Initial advice released last July stated that the casino is a "man-made wonder of the world" lacking in northern Queensland. The development would include accommodation for up to 12,000 people, an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, and an artificial lake.

The resort would be built on the floodplain of the Barron River, which empties into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, on land that is mostly used as a sugar cane plantation. The proposal has divided the small community of Yawkey's Knob.

In documents filed last week with the federal Department of the Environment, Aquis argued that the federal environmental assessment process was not necessary because the impacts on the surrounding environment, including coral reefs, would not be significant enough to require an environmental assessment.

If the proposal is considered a "controlled action" under environmental law, the report attached to the submittal is sufficient.

The company said the draft EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) is complete but has not been submitted to the coordinating general because it is pending a final decision related to the issuance of a casino license, which is critical to the viability of the project."

Aquis said that if development does not proceed, opportunities to protect and interpret indigenous and non-indigenous cultural values and to protect and restore natural habitats will be lost.

It also stated that the resort would provide shelter for local residents during storms.

Community groups expressed concern about the size of the proposed resort and the social impact of gambling, and questioned whether it would generate economic benefits from tourists arriving by cruise ship.

Environmental groups warned that the casino could disturb the delicate floodplain, pollute the Great Barrier Reef, and increase the risk of flooding.

Wendy Tubman, coordinator of the North Queensland Conservation Council, told The Guardian Australia The Guardian Australia.

"It is a very sensitive area and a large development. It's a very sensitive area and a major development. It's only right that we take precautions, even if it delays the construction of the casino a little bit.

As Gaylord Nelson said, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around.

Andrew Picone of the Australian Conservation Foundation says: "At the very least, it should be considered a controlled action to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

But there needs to be due process and the community should have a say.

Even without the creation of an artificial lake, it is already a flood plain and prone to flooding." With climate change and sea level rise, such large-scale development in a high-tide zone would endanger the environment and human life as well."

A man has been convicted of head-butting a police officer at a casino in a Paris suburb.

According to the court, the star of "Doctor Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia" was furious when he nearly lost 30,000 euros (about $21,400) in a high-stakes roulette game last month.

He began arguing with Croupier, who was so surprised by the actor's anger that he called the police.

When officers arrived at the casino in Enghien-les-Bains and asked him to leave, Sharif, 71, became even angrier and began swearing, causing the officers to head-butt him. The officer was given two days off to recover.

Sharif was sentenced to a one-month suspended sentence and fined 1,500 euros for insult and violence against a police officer.

He was also ordered to pay 300 euros in damages to the policemen.

At the hearing, Sharif claimed that he had no memory of the incident.

However, the incident was shown on closed-circuit television.

Despite his repeated protestations that his gambling past was long gone, Sharif was a regular at the casino in Enghien-les-Bains, a lakeside establishment eight miles from Paris.

After his film career waned, Sharif became a world-class bridge player. However, he readily admits that he lost most of his money from cards and horse betting, up to 750,000 pounds a night, and was forced to make his worst films.

In a recent interview, he claimed to have given up gambling.

Casinos are where you go when you arrive in a town where you don't know anybody," he said, adding that he no longer has the luxury of putting all his money at the card tables.

'I stopped gambling about 10 years ago because I just don't have the confidence anymore to make as much money as I want. I'm at an age where I have to be cautious."

Perhaps even more revealing was his admission in the same interview that he feels he is old enough to behave as he pleases.

At my age," he said, "I could die at any time. There is no possibility, but it is possible.

Employees at the luxury Paris hotel where he lives permanently (which, according to Sharif, is "like a home away from home, with lots of servants") said yesterday that the actor has left to go on vacation and will not return until the end of the month.

None of the casino's officials would comment on the matter.

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