Casino gunman had stalked victim: court

A man accused of gunning down a fitness instructor at Star City Casino had already been convicted of stalking his victim, a Sydney court has been told.

Todd William Devaney, 37, was also wanted by police for assaulting and stalking someone else at the time of the shooting.

Devaney did not appear at Sydney's Central Local Court.

He was refused bail and will undergo a psychiatric assessment before his next court appearance in June.

Devaney, from Mount Riverview in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, faces charges of attempted murder, malicious wounding and three counts of possessing a loaded firearm.

It will be alleged a heavily-armed Devaney shot 28-year-old former model Holly Graham twice in the pelvis area inside the Pyrmont casino complex about 2pm (AEST) on Thursday.

Ms Graham worked as a fitness instructor at the casino's gym.

Documents tendered to the court stated Devaney had a string of convictions for firearms offences, stalking and armed robbery dating back more than a decade.

He served a nine-month suspended jail sentence in 2004 for stalking Ms Graham, reportedly a former girlfriend, who had taken out an apprehended violence order against him.

Ms Graham's father John said his daughter was in a stable condition after surgery at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

"We feel that her fitness and healthy lifestyle will greatly assist her recovery," he said in a statement.

"Naturally, she is devastated at what has happened, but her focus is on recovering quickly and getting back to her normal life."

Walter Bugno, chief executive of casinos at Star City's owner Tabcorp, wished Ms Graham a speedy recovery.

"She is a really popular member of staff, everyone loves Holly's fitness classes," Mr Bugno said.

Ms Graham had worked for the casino for 18 months, becoming a fitness instructor after a stint as a cocktail waitress.

She also had a career as a model and was described, in a 2005 listing on the website for online motoring magazine AutoBabes, as one of Sydney's "hottest and most sought after models".

She gave up modelling in 2007, Fairfax Media reported.

Police will allege they found Devaney carrying three loaded semi-automatic pistols when they arrested him near the casino about an hour after the shooting.

Those weapons were a .22 calibre Phoenix, a .22 calibre Beretta and a .45 calibre Norinco.

Devaney was seen wearing a stick-on beard as he was bundled into a police wagon.

A number of items were strewn across the footpath at the scene of the arrest, including a rubber mask, a flick knife, rounds of ammunition and an authentic-looking police badge.

The court papers stated Devaney had a history of changing his appearance, with two prior convictions for being disguised with intent to commit a felony.

The court was told the warrant for Devaney's arrest was issued after he breached his bail by failing to attend Penrith Local Court on Monday, where he was convicted in his absence for assaulting and stalking a 24-year-old man.

Magistrate Allan Moore formally refused Devaney bail and remanded him in custody to face the same court via audio-visual link on June 19.

Devaney will undergo a psychiatric assessment before his next appearance, his solicitor Michael Croke told the court.

The shooting shut down parts of Pyrmont, as police responded to the incident.

About the time of the shooting, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was in the Pyrmont area attending the official opening of Fairfax Media's new Sydney headquarters.