James Packer to bring Mariah Carey home to Australia
So smitten is the Crown Casino mogul that The Sunday Telegraph can reveal he has asked the megastar to accompany him to Australia - and she has agreed. "Mariah absolutely loves Australia, has many fans there, and would love to visit some time in the near future with James," a close friend of Packer said.
As for the cynics, the source confirmed the couple was very much in love, with Packer unable to keep his hands off the 45-year-old songstress. "They are definitely dating. It is for real," the friend said.
Friends said Packer "sometimes comes across as a love-struck schoolboy" - as a leading businessman discovered several years ago when Packer continually phoned him to ask whether a certain woman had been asking about him.
Packer and Carey, whom The Sunday Telegraph revealed last week had first met in person at his Aspen villa in December 2013, have been inseparable since outing their bizarre romance last Friday in the Italian island of Capri.
The pair are understood to have formally hooked up in Las Vegas, where Carey had been beginning a residency, before the singer succumbed to Mr Packer's wooing to join him on a romantic holiday aboard the Arctic P with her four-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan.
An impending visit to Australia would make sense for Carey, who re-signed a new recording contract with Sony Music offshoot Epic Records earlier this year. With Carey enjoying a significant Australian fan base, local Sony Music officials are keen to capitalise on their new acquisition with a tour.
After introducing Carey to mum Ros, Packer, 47, will almost certainly want to introduce his new love to his own three young children with second wife Erica Baxter, given the billionaire's history of keeping in good with his exes - first wife Jodhi Meares was invited aboard the boat last weekend.
However with the European summer far from over, the couple appear too comfortable to be heading south just yet. Sources said yesterday Packer wanted to fly Carey to his new home in the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv, where the billionaire mogul bought a mansion last year.
Since revealing their romance, the pair has split their time between sunbaking aboard the boat and partying, with Carey flaunting her curves in almost a daily photograph of herself in a new revealing outfit.
On Wednesday night, the couple let down their hair at a party for the rich and famous at one of the most exclusive private resorts in the district, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, which included a private concert by Sting.
Conspiracists say Packer and Carey are benefiting from the publicity being generated by the love-match. Packer is building a casino in Las Vegas, with punters pointing out a drawcard such as Carey would help in the competitive market. At the same time, Carey is set to star in a film being produced by Packer and his co-Ratpac Entertainment partner Bret Ratner. (The Daily Telegraph)
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