Gambler blew $2m in 43 minutes

[same_old]

Harry Kakavas wanted to be a professional gambler when he began borrowing money from friends to bet a few thousand dollars at Crown Casino.

Eleven years later, the "pathological gambler" ended a 16-month $1.5 billion gambling spree in 2006 by losing more than $2 million in just 43 minutes.

Driven by an "addiction" to Baccarat, that began not long after Melbourne's first casino opened in 1994, Kakavas suffered losses of $30 million, and according to his lawyers was left broke.

Mr Kakavas is suing Crown Casino in the Victorian Supreme Court for $20.5 million.

He claims the casino allowed him to continue gambling despite knowing he was a pathological gambler and that he was banned from interstate casinos.

Should they lose the case, Crown could be liable not only for the $20.5 million Mr Kakavas claims he is owed, but also for $700 million it is claimed Crown owes Victorian taxpayers for failing to enforce an interstate exclusion order made against Mr Kakavas.

Mr Kakavas, 42, a Gold Coast property developer, took to the stand on Tuesday describing how he began gambling at about the age of 25 in about 1992.

He said he would bet on sports matches at a betting agency then located in the Rialto Tower near his job in real estate.

Intent on a career of full-time gambling he moved the Gold Coast in 1993 where he bet at Jupiters and met Howard Aldridge who would go on to become a senior figure at Crown.

He followed Mr Aldridge back to Melbourne in time for Crown's opening.

Mr Kakavas told the court he began by placing "relatively small" bets of up to $20,000, borrowing money from friends to place the bets.

He quickly found his way to the Mahogany Room where he rubbed shoulders with Crown developer Lloyd Williams and got to know his stepson John Williams, who was then a gaming attendant.

"By 1995, Your Honour, I became hooked on a game called Baccarat ... quite a simple game to play, really takes no skill at all," Mr Kakavas said.

That addiction, he said, led him to commit a $286,000 fraud against a finance company, which led to him being jailed for four months.

Mr Kakavas described "standard operating procedure" during his addiction as going to a casino, gambling and losing all his money.

He said he eventually sought help and was referred to Bernard Healy, a psychologist who is an expert in dealing with problem gamblers.

Mr Healy described him as a "classic pathological gambler".

Earlier, Crown's lawyer Neil Young QC rejected accusations that Crown had taken advantage of a compulsive gambler.

"There was no effort in any sense of the word to lure Mr Kakavas to Crown," he said.

The trial before Justice David Harper continues on Wednesday.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/...-minutes-court

[silcnlayc]

If he should win, that is that much more to blow any way he wants. He should never see a dime. It should be thrown out of court. No one held a gun to his head to make these wagers. When is it the persons responsibility to take an accounting of his own actions?

Gambling is a drug to some, but that doesn't mean it is anyones fault. You cannot lay blame on others when you know full well you have this addiction and do nothing about. His friends did not help him in this either by enabling him to continue down the path of destruction. Someone had to know about this (in his friends circle) so why in the world did they continue to feed his addiction?

He does not deserve one penny. He chose to go down this path by not seeking help till it was too late and then wants to be reimbursed by a casino for his own actions??

Makes no sense at all IMO.

.

[thelawnet]

FFS, it's always someone else's fault isn't it?

Blame blame, anything but accept personal responsibility....

[doomed4ever]

Mad story wonder if he will win ? but yes it should be thrown out of court. Im with the casino on this one.

[cmich77]

I disagree. If the casino knew he was banned and he was a problem gambler, yet they were happily taking his money, the casino should be held accountable to a degree. If not, these type of "bans" are worthless and casinos will simply look the other way when these people come in. The gambler should get something back, although not 20m.

[love2winalot]

Hiya: This happens every once in a while here in Vegas. Player sues Casino. And just like gambling, the Casino Wins.

Recently, a Player who only played BJ was playing for a long time. He had a set betting pattern, and was betting the lower limits. Then he started drinking........and started winning, and deveated from his betting pattern, and was betting a lot more money, and winning a lot more money.

He kept on drinking.

A little after midnight, he started losing. He was betting more money, and not his set pattern/limits that he had started out with. He LOST all the money he had won, and all his money, and then left.

He Sued the Casino. His case was built around him having a set betting pattern/limits. He said when he was losing, and the Casino could clearly see that he was no longer betting with any type of self control, and had been drinking, that they should have stoped him.

hehehe, those pesky little camera's all over the place.

The Casino responed by bringing in the video of him at the table. It verified everything the Player had said. The Judge was a little confused at first, as to why the Casino was using evidence that seemed to support the player?

At the end of the video, they rewound it back to a few hours earlier. "Here, Right here is where it started". and sure enough it was true, and the player Lost the case.

Can you Guess why?

Because the video showed that he had started drinking a little bit from almost the moment he sat down. But later, "Target Starting point on video", he started drinking more, and this is when he started betting much more aggresivly, AND WAS WINNING A LOT OF MONEY.

So, If his case was, "I lost because i was drunk, and was not betting normally, then it was also true, That I was Drunk, and not betting normally when i was Winning all that Money. is it not?

It is always the same. No matter what I do, if I Win, it is OK. Buuuuuuuuut, if I lose, then why did not someone stop me?

PS: Oh yea, if you Stop me, i will also sue you. hehehe, ah hahaha

[SlotKing]

I honestly think anyone who has to borrow money to gamble has a serious psychological problem. This guy deserves to dig himself out of the hole he dug himself into.

These 2 things are a classic sign of a problem - borrowing money to gamble and passing off blame.

Not to play devil's advocate here, but even if a casino sees that the person has been excluded from other casinos (and even self-exclusion for that matter), assuming no state/provincial/federal laws are in place to protect him, it has every right to welcome him through its doors and allow him to spend "his" money however he pleases.

But try something like that here in Michigan and you will get yourself arrested. Once you self-exclude yourself (or a casino does it for you), you are banned from every casino in the state. If any casino (including Indian casinos) recognizes you, they can confiscate your winnings, hold you, and then the police will arrest you for trespassing. I believe you can get up to a year in jail for it.

He made conscious decisions on what to play, he made a conscious decision to go to the casino, and he made a conscious decision on how much to bet. I see it as his fault, case closed.

[cmich77]

To me, it is just like a bartender cutting off an out of control drunk. Bars are being sued for accidents that result from too much drinking at their establishments. Casinos should be held to the same standard if someone is known to have a gambling problem and are banned allready becasue of it, and they look the other way.

[NASHVEGAS]

Hiya: This happens every once in a while here in Vegas. Player sues Casino. And just like gambling, the Casino Wins

A fair statement until the early 2000's.

I realize you may be implying in similiar type cases but every case is unique.

When attorney Bob Nersesian won in the Nevada Supreme Court that casino surveillance(sp) tapes could be subpoenaed from the casinos, the untouchables in LV began to lose or settle case after case.

Granted, Bob mostly represents AP's and specializes in patron abuse cases but also has taken other types of patron or gambling cases in LV. I know he was battling the trespass law and received one of his rare unfavorable rulings in LV and not sure exactly the status.

Yet, to this day the casinos,cops,commission and or control board continue to disregard the laws. See prior posts. And I was a client of Bob's, not on a total contingency fee basis as most clients are, ftr.

[Rusty]

I think the Casino will win this One.

Even if it is proved that this Guy suffered from a pathological disorder that caused him to gamble compulsively it would not be reasonable to expect a Casino to diagnose such a condition.
It would have to be shown that the Casino had a duty to be aware of such a condition and that it was aware the plaintiff suffered from such a condition and willfully failed to act in order to benefit financially from their clients illness.
Well something along those lines within the framework of the law anyway.

That said, those of you using the argument, "people should be responsible for their own actions", seem to be unaware or unable to accept that psychological conditions exist that diminish an individuals responsibility.
Just because this case is about money does not negate that fact even if it is difficult to empathize with this individuals case.


PS
Why is there a light-bulb under my Avatar?