Kerry Packer’s Gambling Strategy – Hit and Run – High Roller Comps
Kerry Packer’s gambling strategy was quite simple but was the dread of many casino executives. It basically involved forcing the casinos to compete against each in offering the big player comps and discounts. Not just the free suites and show tickets. Typically, a casino would have to offer Packer a discount on his losses of at least 20%. So if he lost a million, the casino would return $200,000 to him. This essentially reduced the mathematical house edge that casinos use to guarantee a profit. To make things worse, Packer would only play blackjack using expert basic strategy or baccarat banker win bets. Two of the lowest house edge games against a skilled gambler. Packer essentially was forcing the casinos to give away the house edge in order to win his business.
To the frustration of many casino hosts and executives, Packer was also famous for using the hit-and-run strategy as well. Where he would come in play hard and would walk out the door if he managed to get up. Two things make this quite clever. It manages to exploit any short term swings in his favor. But because Packer enjoyed playing with a discount on his losses, it made more sense to gamble his winnings at another casino. If he was up $100,000 at one casino; then if he lost $100,000 back to the same casino he wouldn’t get a discount because his net position would be zero. But if he took that $100,000 to another casino he could expect some of it back if he lost! It makes me laugh to think of the pain this must have caused some casino executives. To watch this whale win, then take hundreds of thousands of dollars to another casino next door! But it does illustrate how Packer was quite a clever gambler that always tried to get an edge over the casinos. It is not surprising that he became such a successful business mogul.
(Hint: Packer’s high roller strategy might not be open to regular people at Las Vegas, unless you’re a whale as well. The deals Packer could negotiate are reserved strictly for whales. But with the advent of online casinos and fierce online competition for players, it is possible to replicate Packer’s gambling strategy using online casino bonus codes, playing only on the lowest house edge casino games and using the hit and run strategy.)
Killing Casino Executives
Casino executives tend to make big dollars but to make it fair, most of their pay is incentive based. One casino executive, Steve Cyr, tells of how in one session Kerry Packer was able to wipe his bonus: -
“Oh yeah, and very sharp. Yeah. [Kerry Packer] wasn't there to get plastered and have a good time he was there to win.
You know, I remember one year, I was in the top bonus pool, and when we hit a certain percentage above our ebiter (phonetic) which is, you know, New Years Eve we were right there, we were supposed to make like 54 million or something like that and we were over it, we were at like 61 million, and I was to get a six figure bonus. Kerry Packer came in and won 13 million New Years Eve and crushed us, and I got nothing.”
Poor casino executives… :) . But the story is a good example of the size of Kerry Packer’s gambling and how it could shake up casinos.
Breaking the Bank
It wasn’t just a matter of breaking casino executive’s Christmas bonuses. Kerry Packer could break casinos. In fact, the size of his gambling was so volatile to a casino that only a few casinos in the world would accept his action. Only the biggest casinos could take the financial shock of Kerry Packer winning.
But sometimes a smaller casino would try to take the Prince of Whales and hope to get lucky. The Aspinalls Club was an exclusive high-class casino in London but because it was so exclusive, it was in the greater scheme of things, quite a small casino. They welcomed Kerry Packer around May 1990. Unfortunately for the Aspinalls Club managers and owners, Kerry Packer had good winning streak over a week. Taking home £300,000 in winnings and a week later the Aspinalls Club shut down because of cash flow problems.
Kerry Packer VS MGM Grand – Packer wins $20,000,000.00
The largest confirmed win by Kerry Packer happened in 1995 at the MGM Grand where he won a record breaking $20,000,000 in a single blackjack session. He reportedly requested that entire public area be cleared so he could play by himself. He then proceeded to play blackjack by walking around from one table to another as he felt. If he chose to play at a table, he played all eight boxes for $250,000 a box! The Prince of Whales got lucky and hit a winning streak, taking him to a profit of $28,000,000 within the first forty minutes. After going back and forth until the early hours of the morning, Packer settled with a $20,000,000 win. At the time, the win against the MGM Grand was the largest recorded win in a single session.
Big Tipper
The Prince of Whales made a reputation not just for the size of his gigantic bets but the size of the tips he would give. The night of his big MGM Grand win, he left a $1 million tip for the dealers. On another occasion, he was talking to his female dealer. After finding out she was married with children, he asked her why she wasn’t home taking care of her family. She replied, “because I have a mortgage”. Packer then asked, “how much have you got left?” The dealer complained she still had $150,000 left to pay off. Packer left the dealer enough of a tip to cover her mortgage and then some. It is not a case of a few cases of random generosity, Packer was genuinely generous man who had the means to make a habit of helping people with tips that normally exceeded their annual salary. His life was filled with stories like these.
I’ll Flip You For It! Famous Coin Flip Story
This is one of the most famous gambling legends of Kerry Packer. He was playing blackjack with other high-rollers. At the table was an obnoxious loud mouthed Texan oilman who kept berating the dealer among other arrogant annoyances. It should be remembered that in Australia, there is a general hatred for people who are stuck up. So Kerry Packer tells this up-himself Texan to shut it. The Texan turned to Packer and said “Partner, do you know who I am?? I’m worth sixty million dollars!” The Texan thought that this would be impressive and shut Packer up. Obviously, this Texan did not know that Packer was not only a business mogul worth billions but also the biggest gambler in the world. So, Kerry Packers looks the man in the eye and says, “I’ll flip you for it”. The Texan shut up and left the table a few hands later.
“I only gambled what I could afford to lose”
A fitting way to finish this little tribute to The Prince of Whales is a little story told by his son during Kerry Packer’s eulogy. His son tells that his once asked his father why he gambled such crazy amounts. Instead of trying to justify his gambling with excuses, Kerry Packer simply said, “I only gambled what I could afford to lose”.
If you take anything away from the life of Kerry Packer the gambler, remember these words. Because there are many whales who despite their vast wealth, manage to lose their entire family fortunes. Packer, despite gambling such vast amounts, did manage to keep his gambling controlled and budgeted. (Just his budget was larger than anyone else’s). But his life could have ended differently. There is no limit to how much one can lose at gambling, whether they are poor or one of the richest men in the world. Kerry Packer managed to be a gambler his entire life but still left a vast fortune for his family at his death. This is one of the most impressive things about Packer’s gambling. That he never let it control or destroy his life. Take this away from Kerry Packer’s life, whether you are smallest or the biggest gambler in the world.
Rest in Peace Packer!
Kerry Packer on the right playing Blackjack
|
