Tycoon Harry Kakavas, a Gold Coast property developer, filed a suit against the Crown Casino alleging that the gambling venue allowed him to play baccarat in spite of a self-imposed life ban. Mr. Kakavas says he lost $30 millions in a 14-month period starting in June 2005.

According to the property developer, who suffers from a gambling addiction, he decided to exclude himself from the Crown casino but was attracted back by chief operating officer John Williams. The documents submitted to the Court state that Mr. Kakavas flew 32 times on Crown’s VIP jet and regularly received bags and boxes of cash with up to $50,000.

"They deliberately set out to identify a punter they knew they could win large sums of money from," Attorney Cliff Pannam said. Casino’s lawyer Jeff Sher, on the other hand, claimed Kakavas was not forced to do anything. "You should be responsible for your own actions _ don't blame somebody else," Sher said.

The claim will now be contested in the Supreme Court, where the tycoon’s lawyers and Crown’s attorneys will square off in a two-day hearing.