Ex-Entain Boss Lands in Court After Drunken Joyride in Pizza Delivery Vehicle

Posted on: May 24, 2021, 10:20h. 

Last updated on: May 24, 2021, 12:16h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Former Entain CEO Kenny Alexander apologized to a judge in Perth, Scotland on Friday for drunkenly “borrowing” a fast-food delivery vehicle 12 months ago.

Kenny Alexander
Multi-millionaire Kenny Alexander (inset, on his way to court) is not above slumming it with the rest of us at the Marmaris in Perth. (Image: Daily Record/Casino.org)

The ex-online gambling supremo blamed a “moment of madness” for taking the car from outside a Marmaris Kebab and Pizza House in Perth after an evening of heavy drinking.

Alexander, 52, admitted taking the car without the owner’s consent. He also pleaded guilty to one count of driving while over the legal alcohol limit and one count of driving without insurance.

Alexander quit Entain, then known as GVC Holdings, unexpectedly last July after what he called a “reflective lockdown.”

In his 13-year tenure, he transformed the company from a bit-part player into one of the biggest gambling companies in the world, listed on the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100.

Alexander engineered a number of audacious high-profile takeovers, including the $1.72 billion acquisition of bwin.party in 2015, and 2018’s acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral in a deal worth over $5 billion

‘Can’t Explain’

The court heard that in May 2020, Alexander had been drinking with a friend. At around 10 pm, after ordering food and fruitlessly trying to find a taxi, he spotted the keys had been left in the delivery vehicle.

The owner of the car, a red Honda hatchback, was picking up a delivery and described hearing the wheels spin as the car sped off.

He has been mortified by what has happened. He has previously been of good character, but he doesn’t deny any of the offenses,” his lawyer said. “When the delivery driver [first] arrived, he spoke with him about the prospect of getting a lift home. In truth, the driver is probably not allowed to do that.

“This was when his moment of madness occurred. He jumped in the car and ended up one street away, having effectively driven once around the block. He can’t explain what went through his mind. When the delivery driver approached him, he apologized and offered to pay for any inconvenience he had caused.”

Fleeing the Scene

When Alexander heard the police had been called, he fled the scene of the crime. He was later found waiting for the police outside his $1 million house in an affluent part of town.

“It’s me you’re looking for,” he told them.

“You appear before the court as a man of relatively mature years, and someone with a hitherto impeccable character,” observed the judge, Sheriff Pino Di Emidio.

Alexander was fined £1,000 and banned from driving for a year.