He is suing Crown Casino for the $30 million he lost there. But who is Harry Kakavas and how did he become a high roller?
Photo: John Woudstra
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AdvertisementIf gambling addict and property developer Harry Kakavas is ever tempted back to Crown Casino, he is unlikely to receive the red-carpet treatment.
The Gold Coast businessman has launched legal proceedings against the gaming venue, claiming they offered him a private jet, a penthouse suite and boxes of cash to entice him back to the baccarat table, despite a self-imposed ban from every major casino in Australia.
The chronic gambler alleges that Crown lured him into losing $30 million, and he is now suing for negligence, unconscionable conduct and breaches of the Casino Control Act. Sources close to Kakavas told The Age that he was unlikely to settle for anything less than $100 million (including damages and other costs) and did not expect the matter to proceed to court.
"These bastards deliberately went after him. They knew he had a weakness and they seduced him. This is a volcano that is going to erupt and it could jeopardise Crown's gaming licence," the source said. "That's why I doubt it will go to court."
The comments could be part of a high-stake bluff to force an opponent's hand, but Crown's management maintained a poker face yesterday. Crown Casino spokesman Gary O'Neil refused to comment, while other senior managers were unavailable for comment.
Several business associates of Kakavas would not speak on the record either, but described him as a nice bloke, an astute businessman with a strong work ethic and a nose for a deal.
Born in Carlton but barracking for Collingwood, he has been called Harry "Hedges" Kakavas because of an extraordinary run of sales on the Gold Coast's bluechip Hedges Avenue, which has been dubbed "Millionaire's Row".
Kakavas grew up in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. After a brief foray studying economics at LaTrobe University, he started his real estate career in 1986 selling residential property. A former teacher at Murrumbeena High School had become a real estate agent and had encouraged Kakavas to do the same.
After several years with commercial property agencies Baillieu Knight Frank and Colliers Jardine, the ambitious agent made his first foray into residential development and built three apartments on his parents' South Caulfield property. The project earned him almost $400,000 and he turned over several other profitable developments in quick succession.
In 2001, Kakavas headed to Surfers Paradise as the Queensland property market was about to hit its straps. He bought two waterfront properties in Hedges Avenue for $4 million, spent another $4 million building a three-storey Mediterranean- style mansion and set a state record when he sold it for $18 million. A month later he sold a nearby property for $15 million. A Gold Coast agent says Kakavas was solely responsible for doubling house prices in Hedges Avenue and helped establish it as Queensland's premier residential locale.
He also set up a successful prestige real estate agency, which turned over more than $150,000 a week.
When the market peaked in 2004, business associates estimate Kakavas' personal wealth at more than $60 million. But gambling, particularly baccarat, was always his Achilles heel and less than three years later, Kakavas has lost most of his vast fortune. A close friend recalls him winning $70,000 on the Caulfield Cup and flying to Sydney's Star City Casino to ride his luck. Kakavas says his love of the punt began with the occasional bet on the footy, but escalated quickly.
He was issued with the exclusive Crown Casino Mahogany Room card and at the height of his addiction was laying down up to $300,000 each hand. He became one of Crown Casino's most valued customers, often referred to as "whales" by casino operators.
He soon realised he was a "problem gambler ...unable to control his urge to gamble".
Claiming to have acted on Crown's recommendation to apply for an order excluding him from the casino in November 1995, Kakavas later had sought to have his "withdrawal of licence" revoked, but Crown advised him that it would continue indefinitely.
Having begun to make his millions on the Gold Coast, Kakavas gambled overseas, including Las Vegas.
He claimed Crown's chief operating officer, John Williams, had "devised a scheme" designed to lure Kakavas back to the Southbank gambling venue. The scheme instructed Crown employees to "do what was necessary".
Between October 2004 and January 2005, it is alleged Crown offered various inducements, including inviting Kakavas and his friends to the Australian Open tennis in January 2005, with food, drink and accommodation during the two-week tournament.
They had also allegedly offered to assist Kakavas' return to Crown by drafting a letter, purportedly from him to the casino's general manager of community affairs calling for a lifting of his self-imposed ban. It is alleged Crown also instructed Kakavas to get a letter from a doctor - giving him "the all clear to gamble" - that would further support his bid to return to the casino. A Queensland psychologist later said she was unable to form any opinion as to Kakavas' suitability to return.
The man alleged to have given Kakavas the letter, Crown's interstate marketing manager, Richard Doggert, said to him: "What do we have to do to get you to come back to Crown?"
The high roller has other skeletons and was accused of armed robbery in 1998 following a botched hold-up of the Shark Fin restaurant in Bourke Street. Within hours of the robbery, it was claimed that Kakavas and former soccer star Con Boutsianis flew to Sydney and squandered $24,000 in a 90-minute betting binge at Star City Casino. While Kakavas was acquitted of the charges, his QC described him as a "talented conman ... and a hopeless gambler".
But his style is nonetheless flamboyant. After his father, a retired fencing contractor, suffered a heart attack 18 months ago, Kakavas took out a full-page advertisement in the Gold Coast Bulletin to thank the cardiology surgeon, Guy Wright-Smith, referring to him as a "lifesaver". Kakavas yesterday told The Age: "(I am) resilient and relentless and will not stop until justice is served."
He also set up a successful prestige real estate agency, which turned over more than $150,000 a week.
When the market peaked in 2004, business associates estimate Kakavas' personal wealth at more than $60 million. But gambling, particularly baccarat, was always his Achilles heel and less than three years later, Kakavas has lost most of his vast fortune. A close friend recalls him winning $70,000 on the Caulfield Cup and flying to Sydney's Star City Casino to ride his luck. Kakavas says his love of the punt began with the occasional bet on the footy, but escalated quickly.
He was issued with the exclusive Crown Casino Mahogany Room card and at the height of his addiction was laying down up to $300,000 each hand. He became one of Crown Casino's most valued customers, often referred to as "whales" by casino operators.
He soon realised he was a "problem gambler ...unable to control his urge to gamble".
Claiming to have acted on Crown's recommendation to apply for an order excluding him from the casino in November 1995, Kakavas later had sought to have his "withdrawal of licence" revoked, but Crown advised him that it would continue indefinitely.
Having begun to make his millions on the Gold Coast, Kakavas gambled overseas, including Las Vegas.
He claimed Crown's chief operating officer, John Williams, had "devised a scheme" designed to lure Kakavas back to the Southbank gambling venue. The scheme instructed Crown employees to "do what was necessary".
Between October 2004 and January 2005, it is alleged Crown offered various inducements, including inviting Kakavas and his friends to the Australian Open tennis in January 2005, with food, drink and accommodation during the two-week tournament.
They had also allegedly offered to assist Kakavas' return to Crown by drafting a letter, purportedly from him to the casino's general manager of community affairs calling for a lifting of his self-imposed ban. It is alleged Crown also instructed Kakavas to get a letter from a doctor - giving him "the all clear to gamble" - that would further support his bid to return to the casino. A Queensland psychologist later said she was unable to form any opinion as to Kakavas' suitability to return.
The man alleged to have given Kakavas the letter, Crown's interstate marketing manager, Richard Doggert, said to him: "What do we have to do to get you to come back to Crown?"
The high roller has other skeletons and was accused of armed robbery in 1998 following a botched hold-up of the Shark Fin restaurant in Bourke Street. Within hours of the robbery, it was claimed that Kakavas and former soccer star Con Boutsianis flew to Sydney and squandered $24,000 in a 90-minute betting binge at Star City Casino. While Kakavas was acquitted of the charges, his QC described him as a "talented conman ... and a hopeless gambler".
But his style is nonetheless flamboyant. After his father, a retired fencing contractor, suffered a heart attack 18 months ago, Kakavas took out a full-page advertisement in the Gold Coast Bulletin to thank the cardiology surgeon, Guy Wright-Smith, referring to him as a "lifesaver". Kakavas yesterday told The Age: "(I am) resilient and relentless and will not stop until justice is served."
