We all dream of being a high roller, a gambler who is set on winning no matter what. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to have the kind of money that playing in a casino for high stakes demands. However, there is such a high roller in the world, one who plays for keeps, and has put several casino out of business.
Uncut excerpts from Paul Barry's biography The Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer revealed a portrait of a man whose gambling seemed only to be a problem for those he played against. If Packer had a bad night at the tables, he could transform a dull year for the casino into a brilliant one. If he had a good night, he could win enough to hijack the year's profit and maybe even to break the bank, as he did do in a few instances.
When businessman Kerry Packer was not chasing deals, playing polo or racing around in go-karts, he often dashed off to the races or the casino to gamble. His exploits in casinos in London and Las Vegas in the 1980s and 1990s became the stuff of legend, earning him the nickname Prince of Whales.
While he was in London, he made regular excursions from his Savoy suite to the tables, often winning or losing more money than people make in a lifetime. As one of his executives put it, he gambled when he was bored, and he gambled often because he was often bored.
In March, 1987, Packer reportedly lost $19 million in one night playing blackjack at the Ritz. Packer lost the money playing blackjack in a private room on the casino's ground floor. According to an eyewitness, he played two tables at a time and moved from one to the other to place his bets, playing all seven hands at each table and staking £10,000 ($24,000) per hand.
When London's most exclusive casino, Aspinalls Club, ran out of money in May, 1990 and was forced to shut down, there were reports that Packer was responsible. One London gossip column claimed he had gambled there the previous week and won £300,000 ($709,000), which had forced them to close their doors.
This may well have been urban myth, for neither the casino management nor Packer would confirm the story, yet the principle of him being richer than the casino was absolutely accurate. On another occasion, he was barred from the London casino Crockfords for winning too much. According to his right-hand man and partner in fun, Trevor Kennedy, he had won “about 10 million quid” in the previous few weeks and the casino had tired of it.
According to Kennedy, Packer came back "with a big grin from ear to ear", saying it was the thing he had always wanted: to be banned from a casino for winning too much. Clearly, Packer had the firepower to bankrupt even the richest London casino if he got lucky. It was not about the money with Packer, only about winning. |
