Billionaire Laurence Escalante pleads guilty to drug charges after flying to Melbourne on his $70 million private jet

A weekend bender in Las Vegas went horribly wrong for an Australian billionaire when he was caught with drugs after his luxury private jet landed in Melbourne.

Laurence Escalante – who is worth an estimated $3.4 billion – pleaded guilty to possession of small amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and LSD last May when he appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The 41-year-old Perth entrepreneur landed at a VIP terminal at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport ahead of his trial in the same $70 million private jet, a Bombardier Global 7500, that he used to return to Australia last year.

Mr. Escalante made his fortune after creating Virtual Gaming Worlds, an online gaming empire that prides itself on “innovative social games,” many of which involve gambling.

Although he was now worth billions, his first job as a teenager was flipping burgers at Hungry Jacks for just $5.65 an hour.

Mr Escalate, who likes to flaunt his wealth, posted several photos and videos of himself traveling from Perth to Melbourne for his court appearance.

The father-of-four posted more to his Instagram account the following night, showing his kids and family in his private jet, dubbed the Ferrari of the Skies, as they flew to Sydney.

He had previously posted a photo of himself at the Magistrate’s Court dressed in a designer suit and tie while wearing a luxury watch.

The court heard Mr Escalante tell customs officials on arrival in Melbourne that he had packed his own bags and was ‘fully aware’ of everything he was bringing into the country, the Announce sun reported.

He had even exchanged messages with one of the flight attendants that he had double-checked his luggage before taking to the air.

Shortly after arriving, however, Mr. Escalante was escorted by customs officials to a private examination room to search his bags.

They found a zip-top bag containing a gram of cocaine, a single blue ecstasy pill in a pocket of a pair of jeans, and a small bottle containing 0.03 mg of LSD in his luggage.

He told customs officials that he “didn’t even know” the LSD was in his bags or that he had it on him.

“The rest of the stuff is residue and remnants of my jeans,” he said.

“I didn’t dispose of (the drugs) properly…it’s my fault.”

Customs officials found small amounts of cocaine, LSD and ecstasy on him after he arrived in Melbourne on his private jet (pictured) from a trip to Las Vegas

Mr Escalante’s lawyer, David Hallowes, SC, told the court his client was “ashamed” of the allegations.

He argued that Mr. Escalate should receive a non-conviction and instead receive a good behavior bail.

Mr. Escalante’s family and friends provided Magistrate Donna Bakos with character references describing him as a caring family man and a hard worker.

He will be sentenced Tuesday, with a maximum jail term of 12 months and/or a maximum fine of $13,000.