How to Beat the House. Complete Guide by Kerry Packer

The history of gambling is replete with numerous cases and stories full of drama, epic fails, and legendary wins. However the story of Kerry Packer deserves a special place in the Hall of Fame of Global Gambling. This Australian mogul has imprinted his name in the story of casino winnings. 

If you haven’t heard of his punting exploits, you will be surprised to learn of his sometimes controversial actions, handful gestures and mindset that had led to him to win millions of dollars in one night, and losing even more the other. 

I discovered the story of Kerry Packer while scrolling through the internet in my attempt to find the new non UK casino sites. And surprisingly, the name of Australia’s richest man popped up in the links related to online casinos and stuff. Among countless articles, videos, posts dedicated to this man, you will discover many tales that seem to be unrealistic, and maybe they are, but for sure his story is worth telling.

Early years and family history

There is a tale in family history of the Packers that the grandfather of Kerry, Robert Clyde, while he was on his journey in the Tasmanian City of Hobart, went to the races, found $10 on the ground, and bet it on a horse that won 10-to-1 in a long shot. Packer then continued, “He bought a ticket to Sydney, and started his business in the newspaper industry and did it quite well”. That’s how I assume the richest family in Australia has started to write its history, from a $10 bet on a horse. 

Although Sir Frank Packer, Kerry’s father owned the biggest media empire, that included magazines like Australian Women’s Weekly, the Daily Telegraph and the Channel Nine Television Network, evolving his son in family business was his first thought. 

Frank had a difficult personality and was tough often on both of his sons, and never thought much of Kerry, counting more on Clyde, believing he is the one who is more capable to inherit family business. 

However, Clyde had to step down from their father’s plan as he couldn’t deal with his overwhelming expectations and aggressive behavior. Kerry was the only option that had been left to try for Sir Frank to hand over the reins, and he totally didn’t expect what was coming next. 

First steps in business

One of the biggest turning points in the life of Kerry was creating, alongside Ita Buttrose, a new magazine Cleo. Ita was appointed as an editor of the Telegraph when she was just 23 years old. In 1966, she and her husband had relocated overseas when she won a fashion contest, and received as a prize a trip to Expo 67 in Montreal. 

Later, they moved to England until Sir Frank Packer offered her a former job as women’s editor at the Telegraph. And the family returned to Australia. In 1972, Packer and Buttrose set about launching a new project, dubbed Cleo, that turned into an immediate hit, selling out all the prints in just two days. 

The magazine shook the foundations of Australian society, publishing the first nude male centerfold with actor Jack Thompson, frank articles about female sexuality, life-work balance, marriage and parenting pressure, abortion, domestic violence, and other topics. This magazine remains one of the most popular publications in Australia.  

The next big win in Kerry’s rise was World Series Cricket. He managed to switch the layers, turning the old-fashioned almost forgotten sport into a professional era. It was a simple but smart move; he poached the world’s biggest names in sport. Initially, he entered the arena to obtain broadcasting rights, but when he didn’t manage to get the rights, he hit the most sensitive spot of this sport, its players. 

He started with signing 30-odd players, but the response he received was the banning of the players, but this didn’t stop him. His next move was official contracts with the biggest world players, the list included names like Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Andy Roberts, Imran Khan, Barry Richards, and Mike Procter, who couldn’t refuse the offer from the Australian Godfather. Losing all the aces, the Suits had no choice but to sell the rights to Packer.

It took only the first two seasons for Packer to completely transform the game’s template, propelling WSC to the top ranks of global sports events. It seemed the heavy shadow of his father was finally lifting from Packer’s shoulders.

Emerging passion for gambling

Having beaten polio at an early age, being diagnosed with dyslexia, being constantly criticized by his father, and being called “boofhead”, these experiences, combined with his natural inclination, led to his early involvement in gambling. His father Frank, being multimillionaire, even made him sell his car to pay off the debts of $10.000, believing that it will teach Kerry a lesson. 

But it didn’t dampen the young Packer’s growing appetite for risk and high stakes. That drive would eventually turn him into the “Whale of Whales” at the biggest casinos in Las Vegas, London, and Australia, threatened by the financial damage he could inflict, making some venues ban him for life, and others were pushed out of business entirely.

“I’ll flip you for it.”

Packer is known for his respect for gamblers who are not afraid of high stakes and always know how to deal with boastful guys who brag about their deep pockets. During one of his trips to Vegas, he was playing at a blackjack table when he was approached by a Texan oil tycoon. In his attempt to overshadow everyone in the room, the oil baron continued bragging about how rich he was. 

At some point, he yelled at Packer, “Do you know who I am? I am worth $100 million!” Packer looked at him, calmly pulled a coin from his pocket, and delivered his iconic line: “I’ll toss you for it.” Faced with the thought of losing his entire fortune on a coin toss, the baron had no choice but to step back and walk away to a secluded table and play in silence for the rest of the evening.

Big gestures 

Love for high stakes and big risks is not the only thing that was curious about Packer. Despite his ruthlessness in negotiations, he was always generous with dealers and people who worked for casinos. 

One evening, while chatting with a casino croupier, he found out that she was $150,000 in debt on her mortgage and had nearly lost her home. He wrote her a check for the full amount so she could pay off the bank.

On another occasion, he handed the keys to his brand-new Mercedes to a valet and simply said, “It’s yours now.”

Another time, while playing blackjack, he noticed that a dealer had been moved from the VIP section to the regular pit. He placed $20,000 on every spot and told the dealer to keep all the winnings from the round.

Steve Cyr, a former casino host has shared a story of his own experience from one of the legendary nights Packer had spent on New Year’s Eve in the mid-1990s “Packer was betting $150.000 per hand at Las Vegas Hilton, we were supposed to get $40.000 as bonus each if we had cleared $50 million in winnings. 

The casino had hit $58 million, but Packer won $9 million, and our bonuses were gone. He finished his game with a $1.3 million tip to be shared among all dealers and gave $100,000 to the lounge singer.”

Destroying casinos and bookmakers

Packer officially took control of his family’s media empire in 1974, Consolidated Press Holdings, he was considered as one of the richest men in Australia. Very soon, Australian casinos became “too small” for Packer’s gambling ambitions. As one former executive recalls, “While flying over Darwin, he used to call the casino from his jet to ask how much money was in the cage. If it was less than $300,000, he’d keep flying. 

But if it was over $800,000, he’d turn the plane around to play. He was the kind of man who liked to make people sweat, and the more you showed you were nervous, the more reason you had to be.” 

So Packer became a regular visitor at casinos across the ocean, marking the biggest events in the history of gambling, even forcing a few casinos out of business for good. 

MGM: On an evening in 1994, playing the tables with blackjack at Grand, Packer recorded one of the most epic wins in the history of gambling. After he hit several wins in a row, he continued to raise the stakes, ending by playing seven hands at once. Assuming that he can’t be that lucky, and his winnings will end soon, the casino allowed him to raise the stakes up to $500,000 per hand. 

But it was a mistake; he managed to win in 40 minutes $20 million. That night, his wins in total had reached $40 million in total. He left $1 million as a tip to be split amongst the staff.  After that night, Packer, one of the executives of the casino, had to inform Packer that he is no longer allowed to play there; he took it with grace and even with a small smile, as if it were a win.

Desert Inn: The casino that had to shut down because of the reportedly $51 million win that Packer had during one of his nights in Vegas. And not only did he win but also requested to be paid in cash, as the casino administration did when he lost $8,2 the previous evening before. 

Not only was the casino world inside Packer’s spectrum, but bookmakers were getting nervous too, every time he showed up at the biggest sports events in Australia. One of his favorite events was the Melbourne Cup, where in 1997 he managed to run out of business at least 7 major bookies by placing a $1.5 million bet on the horse Might and Power, who won the race at $4.50. 

Epic losses 

It is becoming pretty much clear, that Packer was kind of man who wasn’t afraid of losses, who were just as epic as his wins, he could lose $28 million in blackjack at London casino, $33.3 million at Bellagio hotel in one night, $7 million at Crockford’s Casino in London one day after the new owner has officially celebrated the great opening. 

One of the most curious stories that happened was in Las Vegas on September 11th, 2001. Packer was up millions and ready to leave with a massive amount, but all air traffic was grounded due to the tragedy. With nowhere to go, he stayed and kept playing baccarat, eventually losing $29 million before finally leaving.

Confrontation with politicians

The scale of his personality couldn’t stay unnoticed by politicians either, he was criticized for his casino losses, tax minimizations strategies, aggressive business tactics, in response to one of Australia’s member Mark Latham who described his casino losses as “morally offensive”, Packer replied “the losses were only about $7.5 million, less than his annual contribution to just one children’s hospital” completing his though with statement “This is not someone else’s money. This is my money, and I am entitled to spend it in any way.”

“I’m running out of petrol.”

By December 26, 2005, after surviving four heart attacks and a kidney transplant, Kerry Packer faced his final opponent — one he couldn’t outplay. He passed away at home, on his terms, after asking to be discharged from the hospital despite being on heavy medication. His reported last words were, “I’m running out of petrol and I’m ready to die.”

Packer’s life was full of controversy, risk, and power plays,  but he secured his place in the Hall of Fame as the greatest punter the world has ever seen.