The new boss of Crown Australia has disputed claims by AFL great Wayne Carey that he offered the bag of powdered substance to Perth casino security staff last Thursday.
Crown Resorts chief executive Ciaran Carruthers, who is in his fourth day on the job, told 6PR that Carey’s claim he offered the bag to security staff after dropping it while at a gaming table contradicted the version of events from Crown staff.
Wayne Carey.Credit:Getty Images
“My understanding is that they didn’t know that it was Mr Carey that was at the table. It was a customer that was buying in for chips at the time,” he said.
“[Gaming floor staff] noticed the packet fall out along with the notes and they advised their gaming manager.
“He kept it [the bag] and beyond what’s happened, beyond that, I have no idea what’s happened to it. He removed it from the table, placed it back on his … person and then moved on.”
Carey has previously said he offered to hand the bag to Crown staff.
“That’s in contradiction to the statements that we’ve received from our own staff and from witnesses who were there at the time.”
Carruthers also said Carey did not tell staff he was staying at Crown.
“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 he was staying in one of the hotel rooms,” he said.
“Our team then approached him in his room and advised him that he needed to vacate, he cooperated, he asked for some time to collect his belongings, which we gave him. He then removed himself from the property.”
Carey, 51, maintains the bag contained a small amount of anti-inflammatory medication, branded Aleve, which he regularly takes for pain.
“It was not an illegal substance. It was offered to security. Security didn’t take it,” Carey said on Monday.
“They just said it’s not a great look. I understood that, and we left without incident.”
On Wednesday Maurice Blackburn lawyers for Carey said they had been retained by the former footballer to assess whether he was unlawfully discriminated against.
Carruthers also denied Carey had been treated unfairly.
“We could not have been aware even if it were true that there was an issue with health. We dealt with this as we would deal with any notification of suspicious activity on the property,” he said.
Carey declined to comment.
Crown released a statement on Thursday attributed to Carruthers, saying its team “followed the process which were in place and agreed to at the time” but there would be a “full review of [the processes] 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”.
