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Updated October 24, 2017 15:17:47

A poker machine addict's desperate suicide mission to Crown Casino in Melbourne has thrown into question the gambling giant's commitment to responsible gaming.

Key points:

• Mark Robley lost $120,000 in a three week spree at Melbourne's Crown Casino
• Claims Crown Casino staff were aware he was 'self-excluded' from Crown Casino in Perth
• Says he bought drugs and openly took them at Melbourne Crown Casino

Perth man Mark Robley says he is telling his shocking story to try to get more support for people battling addiction to pokies.

His own gambling problem started when he was a teenager in Townsville.

'I started playing poker machines when I was 18,' he said.

'Started betting small and started enjoying it. My friends would go out clubbing. I would be sort of in the back room playing pokie machines.

'That's where, I guess, my addiction started.'

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He said when he moved to Sydney, temptation was everywhere.

'I couldn't escape,' he said.

'Everywhere I went there were poker machines, every pub, every club.'

So he moved with his partner to Perth where poker machines are only allowed in the city's casino.

And he banned himself from the venue by putting himself on the casino's 'self-exclusion' list.

'It actually took my wife at the time to pull me up and actually pretty much drag me into that centre and self exclude,' he said.

But as it turned out, even that did not protect him.

'I spent every waking minute on the gambling floor'

Recently, the 33-year-old's long-term addiction reached its peak.

Depressed from the break-up of his marriage and using drugs, he lost his job on a Pilbara mine site.

'I lost my job on a Thursday … by the time I landed back in Perth, I'd pre-empted an idea that flying to Melbourne and writing myself off financially was a good idea,' he said.

'I flew over, stayed at Crown Towers over in Melbourne and I spent every minute awake on the gambling floor there losing my money.'

He went to the casino every day for three weeks spending all he had — and much, much more.

'I spent my initial savings of about $20,000, then maxed out all my credit cards — then actually increased the limits on all my credit cards,' he said.

'Then took out a personal loan.

'So, all up over 3 weeks, about $120,000.

'I think there was a period I was there for 48 hours without leaving.'

'They asked if I wanted access to a VIP room'

Crown offers punters the chance to 'self-exclude' themselves from each casino if they know they've got a problem.

Crown Casino Melbourne Online Induction 2017

Mark was already self-excluded from Crown's casino in Perth but he claims even when Melbourne staff became aware of this they allowed him to continue gambling.

'They actually approached me — I think on the second or third day — on the main gambling floor,' he said.

'I guess they must have noticed how much money I was spending.

'They asked me if I wanted access into one of their VIP rooms and I said yes.

'They took my ID, then they realised I was actually self-excluded at the Perth venue and they've come back to me and said they wouldn't allow access to the VIP room.

'Yet the self-exclusion wouldn't apply to Melbourne, I could stay on the main floor.

'At the time I was trying to fuel my anger, so I didn't care much at the time.

'But, you know, post that incident and reflecting back you'd say it was pretty poor.'

Mr Robley's case has been highlighted in a submission by Financial Counselling Australia to the Victorian Gambling Regulator which is reviewing Crown Melbourne's licence.

'Crown actually identified this man as someone who was self-excluded in Perth, then let him gamble at Crown Melbourne, only excluding him from the VIP room initially' the submission said.

'I would rack up a line of cocaine on a poker machine'

Crown Casino is already in the spotlight after former staff accused it of allegedly tampering with poker machines and turning a blind eye to domestic violence and drug use.

Those allegations have been rejected as 'outrageous' and 'unfounded' by Crown Resorts' chairman John Alexander.

But Mr Robley claims to have first-hand experience.

'I would rack up a line of cocaine on a poker machine and just snort it, and did that frequently in their VIP room, once I had access through a guest,' he said.

'I would just pop ecstasy pills — I would walk around with a bag of pills in my pocket and eat them like they were candy.'

He also claims to have been offered drugs inside the Melbourne casino.

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'The first week I was there I was actually approached by a young kid who offered me drugs, which I accepted,' he said.

'He asked me if I'd like some meth. I said, 'yes'. He said, 'wait here'.

'Two minutes later, an older man sat next to me and offered me a bag for cash and I bought it.'

Mr Robley's trip to Crown Melbourne was also a suicide mission.

He says he tried to overdose on ecstasy tablets while still in the building.

'They took me to hospital and later that day I walked out of the hospital and still wanted to end my life and ended up on a construction crane,' he said.

'I wanted to step off the end but I couldn't.

'Even doing all that damage to myself, there was something deep inside me that still said, 'there's more than this'.'

Crown Casino investigating claims

Mr Robley's allegations come amid pressure for a federal inquiry into the casino industry.

7.30 asked Crown for an interview for this story and the opportunity to show 7.30 around its 24-hour Responsible Gambling Centre in Perth.

A Crown Resorts spokesperson said: 'Crown has a very strong commitment to responsible gaming and we treat any responsible gaming issues raised very seriously. Crown is fully investigating this matter.'

Crown pointed 7.30 to its annual report.

The report says: 'In 2002, Crown Melbourne introduced a world first in responsible gaming initiatives by establishing the Responsible Gaming Support Centre at its resort. A similar facility, the Responsible Gambling Information Centre, was opened at the Crown Perth resort in 2010.

'Employee training and education in responsible gaming begins on an employee's first day during the induction program. This training includes information about observable behaviours that may indicate that a customer may be experiencing difficulty with their gaming experience and how to direct the customer to appropriate services.'

Topics:gambling, suicide, mental-health, depression, melbourne-3000, perth-6000

First posted October 23, 2017 16:07:53

The Australian Poker Hall of Fame (APHOF), which launched in 2009, was established to recognize those in the Australian poker community who have excelled and contributed meaningfully to the game. Australian players have a rich tradition in poker. Joe Hachem, Jeff Lisandro and Mel Judah, are among the members of the APHOF. Last night at the 2012 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, David Gorr and Jason Gray were announced as the APHOF’s latest inductees.

Gorr, a veteran poker player and Crown regular, is best known for winning the 2011 Aussie Millions Main Event for $2 million. At the moment, he is sitting in fourth place on the Australian All-Time Money List. Gray has amassed over $1.1 million in tournament winnings, including a win in the 2007 $25,000 Victorian Championships; third in the 2008 World Series of Poker Omaha Hi-Lo Split World Championship, runner-up at the 2008 Asian Poker Pacific (APPT) Sydney Grand Final.

So what does it take to be a member of the APHOF? To be inducted, nominees must meet the following criteria:

• Be a current or former residents of Australia or New Zealand,
• Have demonstrated outstanding and extended service to the game, bringing credit to Australian Casino Tournament Poker, and/or
• Have displayed significant player excellence.

Both Gorr and Gray not only met the criteria, they far exceeded them. PokerNews caught up with Gorr shortly after his induction ceremony at the Aussie Millions Welcome Party:

“Well, first of all, I didn’t know I was going to be inducted,” Gorr said. “I found out five minutes before. They said stay around, you need to be up at the front. I’m really honored and humbled that they have chosen me. I’ve been in poker a long time, that’s true, and I was the 1996 Adelaide Champion, but it took another 15 years for me to win a tournament, so you can see the stamina you need to hang around and hopefully win a tournament. It’s fantastic, it will be interesting to see what my wife says when I get home.”

A Look Back at the Australian Poker Hall of Fame

Both Gorr and Gray join the elite and talented Australian players and personalities who have contributed to a rich poker tradition not only in Australia, but the world around. The APHOF inductees have continued to achieve remarkable feats, including bracelet wins at the WSOP, Player of the Year awards, and dozens of tournament victories in the Asian-Pacific market.

The accomplishments of these players are what inspired Maurie Pears, chairman of the APHOF, to create an Australian Hall of Fame. As he explains: “In proposing this Australian Poker Hall of Fame, I have been driven by a long time desire to honor and set in stone, those poker players, casinos and promoters who have done so much to bring the game to the standard of excellence as it is today.”

The APHOF, created in 2009, originally inducted seven players including Pears, the creator of the APHOF and a veteran of poker; Gary Benson, winner of a WSOP bracelet in 1996; winner of the 2006 Aussie Millions and accomplished author, Lee Nelson; 2009 WSOP Player of the Year, Jeff Lisandro; Billy “The Croc” Argyros; the father of Aussie Poker, Mel Judah; and the ever-boisterous Tony Guoga. In addition, Joe Hachem was inducted as a “Legend of Poker” for his win at the 2005 WSOP and subsequent accomplishments.

With a solid foundation established, the APHOF began to add members over the next two years. In 2010, Lisandro, a four-time WSOP bracelet winner, became the only other player to join Hachem as a Legend of Poker, while Marsha Waggoner, a world-renowned poker dealer, promoter, and ambassador, became the first woman inducted into the APHOF.

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Last year, two more Australian legends were inducted into the APHOF — Leo Boxell and Danny McDonagh. Boxell is a poker legend in Australia, having won the Crown Championship in 2000, banking approximately $500,000 in winnings at the Aussie Millions, and recently winning the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Melbourne. McDonagh spearheaded every major event at the Crown Casino from the day it opened until 2007 when he went on to become Tournament Director of the APPT and then to serve as Director of PokerStars’ Live Poker Operations for Asia Pacific.

Crown Casino Melbourne Online Induction Programs

Now, with the induction of Gorr and Grey, 13 members grace the halls of the APHOF. Look for both players to demonstrate exactly why they’re deserving of being the Class of 2011-2012 if and when they take part in the action over the next two weeks.

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand at the Crown Casino in Melbourne bringing you all the action from the 2012 Aussie Millions, so be sure to visit our live blog for all the action.

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