The $120 million gambling losing streak

December 8th, 2009

How long can a losing streak go on for?
This guy is a loser in every sense of the word. Now the 52-year-old Nebraskan who made his money by selling his father’s toy import firm, faces criminal charges over non-payment of his debts. In turn, he is suing the Caesars Palace and Rio casinos alleging they let him play while drunk, in violation of gambling rules. The philanthropist, from Omaha, claims the casinos plied him with alcohol and painkillers while he gambled.

A stand-alone tourist attraction
Watanabe’s colossal losses soon became the stuff of legend, not to mention a tourist attraction. “It got to the point where people would go just to watch him losing,” said one Vegas regular. “There are a lot of things that make you cringe in Vegas – but I’ve never seen anything like that.”

At the gambling tables
If there was a prize for the biggest gambling debts, Terrance Watanabe would be a clear winner. At the casino tables of Las Vegas, however, he was quite the opposite, racking up $126-million in losses in a one year losing streak. In the year 2007 his play was so bad that he lost $4.8 million in one 24-hour binge. During that year, the 52 year old Watanabe practically lived at the two casinos, betting a grand total of $825 million. He would sometimes play for 24 hours at a stretch, placing bets on games with some of the worst odds in the house, roulette and $25 multi-line slot machines. When he played blackjack, he would often play three hands at the same time, each with a $50,000 limit.

His losses
At his rock bottom in 2007, Watanabe lost $5 million in just one 24-hour gambling binge.

The Watanabe defense
Watanabe’s suit against Harrah’s, the parent company of the two casinos named in the suit, Caesar’s and the Rio, alleges fraud, breach of contract, conspiracy and negligence. The action came after he was slapped with criminal theft and bad-check charges in Vegas over $14.5 million in losses that he has allegedly failed to pay the casino. Harrah’s dismissed Watanabe’s claim, saying he is the one who is at fault. Watanabe claims he was allowed to play while drunk and out of control, in violation of gaming rules. At Caesars and the Rio, he claims, he was assigned his own bartender and gave stacks of $100 bills, sometimes as much as $20,000 in tips.

Harrah’s case
“Mr. Watanabe is a criminal defendant who faces imprisonment,” said Harrah’s spokeswoman Jan Jones. “All of his statements need to be seen in that light. We will not get into a public debate with a criminal defendant who is trying to avoid imprisonment.” His former lawyer, David Chesnoff, submitted a letter to a jury earlier this year, stating casino witnesses would testify that he was regularly drunk. He is free on $1,5-million bail and awaiting a trial in July, at which he will face up to 16 years in prison.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 10:53 am and is filed under Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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