Businessman Harry Kakavas Loses $1.5 Billion at Casino

Gold Coast businessman Harry Kakavas has squandered away $1.5 billion at the Crown Casino in Australia and now he is attempting to retrieve a portion of those funds back via the courts.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

The court heard that between June 2005 and August 2006, Mr Kakavas spent $1.479 billion at Crown, winning and losing vast sums, often on hands of baccarat that took just seconds to play.

During one "frenetic" stint in May 2006, Mr Kakavas spent a staggering $164 million in just five and a half hours.

His odds of winning back any of the lost funds are pretty slim as both Victoria’s Supreme Court and an appeals court ruled against Kakavas, whose only hope now lies with the High Court.

The question being pondered:  Did Crown Casino take "unconscionable advantage" of their most lucrative Australian client by letting him gamble despite his addiction?

Kakavas’ attorney, Allan Myers QC, claims his client had been “clinically diagnosed as a pathological gambler with a severely impaired ability to make rational decisions at the betting table,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Kakavas is attempting to recoup a mere $20.5 million of the $1.5 billion lost.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com