Federal Group is a privately owned family company which operates tourism, hospitality, retail, and a national sensitive freight company but are primarily known for their casino and gaming assets in Tasmania which is described as "a licence to print money". In the past the company has been known as both "Federal Hotels" or "Federal Hotels and Resorts". The Federal Group is owned and operated by the Farrell family, consisting of Greg Farrell (managing director), John Farrell (director of business development), Julia Farrell (director of interior design), Deborah Lee (née Farrell; board member) and Jane Farrell (board member). History Federal Coffee Palace Federal is the oldest continually operating hotel group in Australia. Its origins can be traced to Melbourne in the 1880s. In June 1885, a company named The Federal Coffee Palace Company Limited built an elegant temperance establishment (‘Coffee Palace’) to coincide with the 1888 Centennial Exhibition. Seven stories high, it was the tallest building in Melbourne. It had 450 bedrooms and the largest dining room in Australia. During the Depression of the late 1880s and early 1890s, the Coffee Palace lost significant amounts of money. This prompted its directors to obtain a liquor licence in order to attract more profitable clientele. The original coffee palace was renamed the Hotel Federal and it went on to become the cornerstone of what is now Federal Group. Over the next few decades Federal operated several hotels, including The Menzies, Savoy Plaza, The Windsor, Hotel Australia, Lennons Hotel in Brisbane and Hampton Court in Sydney. Australia's first casino In 1956, Federal bought its first Tasmanian business – the Wrest Point Riviera Hotel in Sandy Bay, Hobart. During the late 1960s Federal initiated discussions with the Tasmanian Government about granting the Wrest Point Riviera Hotel Australia's first casino licence. The casino was initially conceived to address the seasonal nature of Tasmania’s tourism industry, designed to be an attraction that would entice visitors to the state all year round. In a referendum held on 14 December 1968, Tasmanian voters were asked the following question: “Are you in favour of the granting of a casino licence to Wrest Point Hotel conditional on the proposed development of that hotel?”. In spite of having a referendum planned, the Government managed to obtain sufficient votes on the floor of the parliament. They therefore decided to ignore the referendum, and hold the vote prior to the referendum, and the bill