Baccarat player 'lost $1.5 million in 43 minutes'
Posted by Gavin Smith on 22 May 2009 at 11:05
A property developer suing an Australian casino found his pockets more than AUS $2 million (US$1.5 million) lighter after 43 minutes at a card table, a court heard.
AFP reports Harry Kakavas, who is pursuing a case against Melbourne's Crown Casino, is demanding millions in compensation after losing AUS $30 million.
He brought the action in a court in Victoria, saying the casino facilitated his pathological gambling, even though it knew he had a problem.
AFP says the 42-year-old was barred by police in Sydney from going to the Star City Casino, and he is saying this order should have applied across Australia, according to the national news wire AAP.
Mr Kakavas' representation says the Crown Casino, a rival of Star City, offered to fly him to Melbourne more than a dozen times and even left him gift boxes of "lucky" cash on the private jet.
AFP adds AAP said over 16 months from 2005 and 2006 Kakavas allegedly turned over 1.5 billion dollars.
It is also claimed that he was allowed to bet single hands of 300,000 dollars.
A key moment came in August 2006, which is when the lawyer for crown, Neil young, says Kakavas was banned from the venue after blowing AUS $2 million 43 minutes while playing baccarat. Mr Young rejected accusations that Crown had tried to take advantage of the property mogul.
He said: "There was no effort in any sense of the word to lure Mr Kakavas to Crown,"
If the company is found to have broken laws laid down by the Casino Control Act by allowing him to gamble, the firm could end up being told to pay 700 million dollars in illegally-paid winnings to the state government in Victoria.
