Robbie Cooke says he knew he was not invited to a January meeting that the casino's independent manager planned with three law firms about the future of its lucrative Sydney licence.
But it was not until later that the then-Star Entertainment Group chief executive realised the meeting was confidential, he told a second inquiry into the casino's suitability for the licence on Wednesday.
Mr Cooke said that - in hindsight - he overreacted to learning of the key meeting.
"My response might have been a little bit emotive and probably operating under a sense of being under a bit of assault," he said.
He found out about the meeting when the independent manager, Nicholas Weeks, booked a room in Star's corporate office, triggering a notification to Mr Cooke's executive assistant.
Star's former chief Robbie Cooke denied executives were preparing to fight the casino's regulator. (HANDOUT/NSW INDEPENDENT CASINO COMMISSION)
Counsel assisting the inquiry Caspar Conde suggested Mr Cooke had attributed war-like intentions to Mr Weeks and the law firms, which he denied.
The second inquiry led by Adam Bell SC into the casino's suitability to hold a licence began public hearings earlier in April following concerns that Star's reformation progress was attributable to Mr Weeks' appointment rather than company leadership.
Mr Weeks was handed the job after the first inquiry, also led by Mr Bell, found Star unfit to hold one of only two Sydney casino licences.
The decision followed revelations of a notorious gang-linked junket operator running an illicit cage and Chinese debit-card transactions being disguised as hotel expenses.
After learning of the January meeting, Star executive chair David Foster sent a message to Mr Cooke that read: "They are prepping for war. We better do the same."
Mr Foster previously told the inquiry he was "trigger happy" and made the comments in the heat of the moment.
Mr Cooke also said he was preparing for multiple possibilities when he wrote: "We are meeting Monday to get ready for war".
"We were just getting ready for what might have been coming, that's a text, that's a moment in time, so there was a bit of heat at that point as well," he told the inquiry.
"I don't accept the conclusion this shows an intention to be taking a non-cooperative approach with the regulator."
When pointed to the fact his message used the word "war", Mr Cooke said it was in the context of trying to anticipate and prepare for whatever came from the meeting over Star's licence.
The chief executive began taking steps to leave the company in December, but the process accelerated about two weeks before his March 22 departure, he said.
"The actual catalyst for that departure was … when Mr Foster advised me that the board had formed a view that my continuation for the business was no longer going to be of assistance in the company's endeavours to return to suitability in NSW," he said.
Mr Cooke remained a consultant with Star for about three weeks but he did not expect to return to the company after his role was terminated during the latest round of public hearings.
The inquiry continues.
