Crown has disputed claims made by controversial former AFL star Wayne Carey about what happened at the Perth casino when a white powder was allegedly discovered.
Crown Resorts chief executive Ciaran Carruthers said casino staff and witnesses claimed Carey did not offer the bag of powder to security after it fell onto a gaming table at Crown in Burswood last Thursday night.
He said Carey, 51, also told staff that he was not a guest at the hotel, which turned out to be false.
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Carey has indicated he is looking at making a disability discrimination claim against Crown, saying the white powder was “crushed up anti-inflammatories” used to treat debilitating football injuries.
But Mr Carruthers, who has been in the job for just four days, insisted that Carey did not offer the substance to security.
“That’s in contradiction to the statements that we’ve received from our own staff and from witnesses who were there at the time,” he told 6PR radio on Thursday.
“When asked whether or not he was staying on property, he advised our team that he was not a guest of the hotel, and we subsequently found that that was not the case and that he was staying in one of the hotel rooms.
“Our team then approached him in his room and advised him that he needed to vacate. He co-operated, he asked for some time to collect his belongings, which we gave him, he then removed himself from the property.”
Asked why Crown did not seize the bag of white powder, Mr Carruthers said Crown did not have the authority to remove an item from somebody once it was in their possession.
“We are obviously well within our rights to make sure that there is no illegal activity taking place on the property,” he said.
“When the packet fell to the table, the gaming staff noticed it straight away. Mr Carey regained it, placed it back in his pocket and left the table.
“We weren’t in a position then to remove it from him.”
But Mr Carruthers conceded that police should have been called, as has previously been said by Police Commissioner Col Blanch.
“It would have been much easier to deal with this if police had been called,” Mr Carruthers said.
He added that the casino policy regarding notifying police had now been changed.
In a statement released after the radio interview, Mr Carruthers said his priority was to deliver a safe and responsible gaming and entertainment environment for everyone.
“My expectation is that any team member who notices suspicious or inappropriate behaviour acts on that, and they have the full authority to remove any such individual from the premises,” he said.
“While I’m pleased the team followed the process, I have asked for a full review of these to ensure incidents of this nature are handled in accordance with the very highest of expectations and standards, and my expectations are aligned with those of the police commissioner and gaming and wagering commissioner.
“We have been working with the WA Police with regards to last Thursday’s incident and have provided them with the CCTV footage, and we will continue to assist them with their investigations.
“Crown has, and will continue to have, a zero tolerance approach to any form of illicit or inappropriate behaviour.”
Meanwhile, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said in a statement that Carey had retained lawyer Josh Bornstein to investigate a possible disability discrimination claim against Perth’s Crown Casino.
Mr Carruthers denied any suggestion of “disability discrimination”.
“There was no discrimination. We could not have been aware, even if it were true, that there was an issue with his health,” he told 6PR radio.
“We dealt with this as we would deal with any notification of suspicious activity on the property.”
According to his lawyer, Carey is prescribed anti-inflammatories and painkilling medicine to help manage significant pain caused by debilitating football injuries, including a shoulder that needs replacing and a neck injury that requires three discs to be replaced.
“We are considering whether Crown Casino unlawfully discriminated against Mr Carey by excluding him from its premises as a result of a pre-existing disability,” Mr Bornstein said.
The lawyer said the dual-premiership captain at North Melbourne was “distressed” by the casino’s actions that led to media attention and left the public to wrongly assume the bag contained an illegal drug.
He has also indicated he would welcome a police investigation.
