It’s hard to miss James Packer. The super-sized casino mogul, one of the richest men in Australia, has been photographed countless times, and has been in the spotlight even more the last few months, since he started dating superstar Mariah Carey.
Unfortunately, a security guard at Packer’s own Crown Melbourne resort did not recognize the boss, even after being informed that a “most important” personage would be entering the casino at his post.
According to news reports, on New Year’s Day Iskandar Chaban tried to block Packer from entering the casino. He reportedly ended up being pushed, shoved and cursed at before being summarily dismissed.
At the time, Packer was accompanied by senior Crown colleague Ishan Ratnam. The Herald Sun reported they both verbally abused the 60-year-old guard before pushing him and then demanding he get the sack.
“I was just doing my job,” Chaban told the newspaper, adding he “stopped their path just to have a word with them” when the two executives “started screaming at me, using the most terrible language” and then “pushed me out of the way.”
Crown suspended the guard, then reinstated him and called the dustup a “minor incident.”
“It’s understood that a verbal altercation ensued and Mr. Packer continued into the facility,” said a spokeswoman.
Chaban, who says he collapsed on his way home and was hospitalized, has retained a Melbourne law firm.
