25 May 10

Businessman with Over $200m in Losses in Las Vegas

American businessman Terrance Watanabe is said to have lost over $200 million over the course of the last year at the Ceasar's Palace and Rio Grande. He is now being charged for cheque fraud while suing casino operator Harrah's at the same time.

Source: aolnews.com

On the list of players having lost the most in Las Vegas, there is one name at the top that will be hard to surpass: Terrance Watanabe apparently lost over $200 million within one year.

Apart from having lost a sizeable amount, he is also reported to having $14,75 million in debt towards the casinos due to bounced cheques, which is a felony in the state of Nevada with a possible jail time of up to 28 years if the debt is not cleared.

With the trial coming up in June, Watanabe has now himself filed a lawsuit against Harrah's, owner of the two casinos he lost his money in.

Watanabe claims that he was kept like virtual prisoner through a perpetual state of intoxication from alcohol and prescription painkillers provided by the casinos while losing his money. Furthermore he said they agreed on a deal to discount his losses by 30%.

He is now seeking to receive the promised discount which would account for roughly $60 million, exceeding the alleged debt.  

In a further statement, Watanabe's attorney Pierce O'Donell stressed that his client is no criminal but an honest businessman that was specifically targeted by casino management to lose as much as possible due to his vulnerabilities.

"Nobody's ever lost that much in a commercial casino before," University of Nevada, Las Vegas, professor William Thompson told AOL News. "Nobody ever gambles that much and loses."