|
My
Thoughts on Casino Mogul James Packer, by Greg
Tingle - 7th March 2009
(Credit:
Gambling911)
Media
Man, Greg Tingle, has provided Gambling911.com
with a few thoughts related to Australian casino
maestro James Packer. Mr. Packer we learn - like
everyone else out there - is falling on some hard
times these days.
It's
tough being the son of the legend, even if you're
a billionaire. James Packer did inherit an empire
and he paid his dues via listening and learning
from his father, and even working on Newcastle
Waters Cattle Station for years, and of course
receiving the private education at Cranbrook,
Sydney. On education, Kerry Packer once famously
said, "Why would he want to go there (university)?
To learn to smoke marijuana? At his father's funeral
he said, 'Dad was my mentor and my teacher, but
above all, he was my father and that is my greatest
fortune..."
In
recent years James Packer has found out for himself
how tough business is and I believe it's true
that the Australian (and international) news media
doesn't fear the potential repercussions by writing
about James Packer and the family as much as they
once did for his late father. Let's not forget
for a second that "they" were nicknamed
'The Goanna' by the Costigan Commission, with
a list of allegations that Kerry flatly denied,
and they are not worth repeating here, but a couple
of the themes are covered on Network Nine's 'Underbelly'
in relation to the casino, gaming and racing industry.
Insiders
close to the James Packer situation almost universally
agree that he appears to have made two main business
mistakes... the One.Tel telco fiasco in Australia
back in 2001. One.Tel was a 1 billion dollar mistake.
The other more recent mistakes being buying land
based casinos in the Macau region (at top dollar),
but James was not to know the ass would fall out
of the market. Some analysts say some of the casino
investments are worth next to nothing. Hang on,
wouldn't James Packer be paying people good advice
on what to buy, what not to, and how much to pay?
Packer didn't have a luxury of a crystal ball.
The
good news for Packer and the rest of us is that
history shows us that global recessions don't
last forever, or do they? The global economy has
been punishing Packer for the past few years and
it's largely matters which are outside his control,
so I think the Australian press should give him
a break and try to reflect a more balanced approach
to journalism in regards to covering the business
of being James Packer. Australia does have that
"tall poppy" syndrome, but frankly,
the digs at James Packer are getting pretty tied
and long in the tooth. I wouldn't want to be their
next target, but there's smarter than to do that
anyway.
In
a recent wise and generous decision, James Packer's
Crown Casino and Burswood Casino's donated $500,000
to assist with the Victorian Bushfire relief effort,
also supported by The Shane Warne Foundation and
The Salvation Army. I affectionately refer to
the casino identities as the 'Gumleaf Mafia',
a term open to interpretation. In any effect its
great to see money largely raised by the usually
lucrative gaming industry being put to good use
and be poured back into Australian society where
its needed the most. Interesting enough Australia's
press was unusually quite on the matter, despite
some personal phone calls from I to the Australian
Financial Review, however Gambling911 was very
quick to report the good news, with CAP and Poker
News Daily later following suite. The press seemed
more interested in the crashing of the Commonwealth
Bank website which caused me to deposit some money
in the wrong account! Just imagine if it had been
Packer's mistake, you wouldn't hear of it. Packer,
if you're reading this - and we know you will
get to it eventually via the Bush Telegraph -
don't listen to the knockers. You're a champion
bloke with a beautiful family. Hang in there,
things will pick up, and just keep enjoying life
you tough and likable Aussie bastard.
Profiles
James
Packer
Crown
Casino
News
Casino
News
|
