Serves Him Right

Apple released its iPad yesterday to the world, and I had a feeling a certain person would be the first in line at the store in midtown Manhattan.

But as it turns out, the infamous publicity hound, Greg Packer, got bumped out of the first position because he didn't reserve a copy ahead of time, and a guy from Germany went ahead of him. Packer had been in line since last Thursday, and wasn't happy about getting bounced back. He was first in line when the iPhone went on sale a few years back, and of course, made a big deal about it. He is such a media whore that the Associated Press has even gone as far as told their reporters NOT to quote him any more at any event he turns up at. (There wasn't a real need for anyone to stand in line for the iPad, as all you had to do is pre-order it and go pick it up or have it delivered to you.)

I've talked about Packer before on this blog. He's the guy who tries to be first at everything, just so he talk to reporters and get his name in the papers. In the previous link, I talked about how this guy, a Yankee fan, posed as a Red Sox fan at the Riviera Cafe at the start of Game 4 of the 2004 World Series so he could get on TV, and I saw him again at Professor Thom's during the Red Sox games in Japan in March 2008. Haven't seen him at anything else connected to the Red Sox.

He's even gone as far as to claim his wife lost a friend at the World Trade Center in 2001 so he could get into the 9/11 remembrances at Ground Zero. Packer really angered my friend who is the head of the WTC group I belong to by pulling such crap. He was also first in line when the viewing platform to the site opened in December 2001. The guy does anything for publicity, and using the World Trade Center disaster for it is really sick.

Well, Apple turned the tables on Mr. Publicity Whore. Good for them.