Prominent entertainment industry figure and high-roller gambler Matt Gudinski was banned from Crown casino for three months after staff found white powder in his luxury hotel room. But Crown Resorts never referred the matter to police or the casino regulator after the December incident, which occurred while the company’s licence was under review over the casino’s involvement in widespread criminal activity. Matt Gudinski served a three-month suspension from Crown.
The Mushroom Group chief executive is one of Crown’s biggest local gamblers and escaped an exclusion order, which would have required the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) to have been notified. Three former Crown staff, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they signed non-disclosure agreements, said Gudinski was instead issued a withdrawal of licence notice, which effectively suspended him from entering the casino from December 19 until March 13. The son of late Australian music industry legend Michael Gudinski regularly gambled hundreds of thousands of dollars a night, and his turnover at Crown’s tables was incorporated into the company’s budget forecasts, according to the former employees.
A spokeswoman for Gudinski confirmed he was made aware of a “substance” that was found in a room booked under his name. Crown Melbourne. Credit: Carla Gottgens “In line with Crown policies, he accepted responsibility, and the subsequent three-month withdrawal of his licence,” t.
