Star City Revives Water Feature

Sydney’s Star City Casino has had a water feature situated at its entrance for several years but recently it’s been given a new lease on life courtesy of LED illumination. It is the first of a series of water features in and around the Star City complex that will be lit or re-lit with waterproof LEDs.The prime position of this fountain at the entrance of the casino is designed to make people stop and look before being enticed up the steps and through the portals onto the gaming floor, so it was essential that it was bright, lively and eye-catching.The fountain encompasses three concentric circles of Anolis LED lights. There is a sphere of 20 cold white ArcSource3s on the outside, and two tiers of ArcSource12 RGBs in the centre. The lights are run via an E:cue controller, triggered, along with flame effects and the fountain jets, via a ShowMagic show control system.The fountain’s designer Robert Portocarrero explains: “This is our first LED-lit work, although we have been considering using the technology for some time for all the obvious practical reasons, such as power and energy saving, low maintenance and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the Anolis colours and the quality of the light are really excellent, so there’s plenty of imaginative scope, and the product is robust and very well made. It is the perfect solution all round.”This water feature cycles through and runs a seven minute show which also includes flames and an audio track, during which time 40,000 litres of water is pumped through the system. During the show the jets — which are programmed into a whole variety of formations — shimmer, sparkle and refract the light, creating some great colour mixes and some unusual effects.The Casino is so impressed with the spectacular results of the entrance fountain’s lighting that Anolis has now been specified to replace the current light sources in all 14 of the complex’s water features. The client is also looking at upgrading its various other city centre fountain sites with Anolis.