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Crown Casino handed addict bags of money

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CROWN casino has admitted it gave a banned pathological gambler hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to spend on its high-stakes baccarat tables.

In explosive Victorian Supreme Court documents filed yesterday, Crown confesses to handing bags and boxes containing up to $50,000 to multi-millionaire Gold Coast property developer Harry Kakavas.

The freebies were presented during more than 30 trips by Mr Kakavas on the casino`s VIP jet.

"These payments were made in circumstances where (Mr Kakavas) had accrued substantial complimentary allowances," the documents state.

Mr Kakavas, a confessed gambling addict, is suing Crown for the $30 million he says he lost during a 2005-06 gambling spree.

He had previously signed a self-exclusion order, banning him from the Melbourne casino for life.

In its 34-page defence, Crown admits to Mr Kakavas` losses and to the existence of literature identifying a condition described as pathological gambling.

But the casino has strongly denied any illegal activity, wrongdoing or ethical breaches in its dealings with Mr Kakavas.

Mr Kakavas has alleged the plan to lure him back to Melbourne was hatched by Crown`s chief operating officer John Williams, the stepson of former casino owner Lloyd Williams.

Mr Williams was forced to file his own defence with the Supreme Court yesterday and admitted to a telephone conversation with Mr Kakavas in December 2004.

But Mr Williams claimed that it was Mr Kakavas - and not Crown - who initiated the Gold Coast businessman`s return to the casino.

"(Mr Kakavas) asked to be allowed to re-enter Crown casino to gamble and said he was ready to deposit $2 million for this purpose," the document states.

"(Mr Kakavas) told Williams words to the effect that he had undergone a huge personal transformation since the 1990s and was a respectable and upstanding member of the Gold Coast community and was very wealthy."

Mr Williams acknowledged that he was "generally aware that a condition known as pathological gambling had been identified, but that he did not know the details or medical characteristics of that condition".

The documents make no mention of Mr Kakavas` earlier claim that billionaire casino owner James Packer had authorised the VIP jet cash payments.

The documents reveal Crown is counter-suing Mr Kakavas for $1 million in unpaid credit.

Mr Kakavas` total losses at Crown between June 2005 and August 2006 are revealed as $30,216,720.

Mr Kakavas is represented by a high-powered legal team headed by Allan Myers, Cliff Pannam and Leslie Glick.

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