Crown Resorts has disagreed with the claims of the former Australian Football League (AFL) star Wayne Carey about the recent incident when a small bag of white powder allegedly fell from his pocket while he sat at a gaming table at Crown Perth.
The CEO of the Australian gambling and casino giant – Ciarán Carruthers – revealed that both witnesses of the incident and casino staff members claimed that Mr Carey did not offer the bag of white powder to casino security after it fell onto a gaming table on September 1st. According to staff claims, 51-year-old Carey told casino workers that he did not stay at the hotel, which turned out to be a false claim.
The new CEO of Crown Resorts has insisted that the former AFL star did not offer the substance to casino security, saying that the casino’s own staff and witnesses confirmed that. It was also found that Mr Carey was staying in one of the complex’ hotel rooms, so he was approached in his room by casino staff members who advised him to vacate the room. Mr Carruthers further shared that the ex-footballer then cooperated. He was allowed to collect his belongings and was then removed from the property.
The former professional football player and Hall of Famer has already indicated that he is considering filing a potential disability discrimination lawsuit against the casino company. He claims that the white powder was nothing more than crushed-up anti-inflammatories used for the treatment of impairing football injuries.
Former AFL Star Considering Starting Legal Action against Crown Resorts Following Recent Incident at Crown Perth
Following the incident, Crown Resorts, however, also faced some criticism. As explained by the head of the Western Australian Police, the Australian gambling giant was supposed to confiscate the bag of white powder and immediately call the police. This protocol, however, was not followed by the company.
When asked why Crown Resorts did not seize the suspicious item, the company’s CEO said that the operator had no authority to confiscate an item from somebody once it was in their possession. He explained that casino staff members noticed the bag of white powder as soon as it fell to the gaming table but Mr Carey took it, placed it back in his pocket, and, eventually, left the table. In this case, the casino was not in a position to remove the bag from him.
Still, Mr Carruthers acknowledged that casino staff should have called the police and it would have been much easier to deal with the situation.
As mentioned above, Mr Carey had addressed a lawyer to investigate filing a potential disability discrimination claim against Crown Perth. He claims that he had been prescribed anti-inflammatories and painkilling medicine as part of the treatment of some deteriorating injuries he had during his career as a professional football player.
Any suggestions for disability discrimination were rejected by Mr Carruthers who explained that the casino staff dealt with the situation as it would have done with any notification of suspicious activity taking place on the property.
- Author
Olivia Cole
