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StumbleA prosecutor says a Canadian businessman is wanted for failing to pay a $5 million gambling debt to Green Valley Ranch in Henderson. Chief Deputy Clark County District Attorney Bernie Zadrowski says that Semion Kronenfeld is being sought on felony theft and bad check charges on a warrant issued Feb. 17 in Henderson Justice Court, the Canadian Press is reporting.
Prosecutor: Canadian owes $5 million to Green Valley Ranch
(via Canadian Press) · March 19, 2009 · 3:17 PM
Discussion: 24 comments so far...
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Shocker. Have they tried looking in Lake Mead?
Should arrest GVR execs for stealing it from him
Why would you let someone run up that much money without demanding payment? They are like the banks loaning money to people with no proof of income or assets. I bet next they will want a bailout also. 5 million?? Dont they have someone thats suppose to say hey at 2 million we need a payment. They need a better asset manager.
LasVegas2009: You are so right. These casinos need to demand pay up at a much lower amount. More like 100K or so. Or get some kind of collateral. This is just more bad business management. And now GVR is going to go to bankrupt with the rest of Station Casinos and who do you think pays the bill then? Yep, all of us who pay our bills.
It's only $2.9M Canadian.
There oughta be a law.
At what point should a casino operator say
"Hey, you are down enough for us. You may
continue to play, but not with our money."
These people are totally without conscience.
Spartacus, actually it is around 6.2 million Canadian, either way it should have not been ran up that high.
Here is the deal.
You want to get a marker for $100,000.
You go fill out some forms. They do so credit checks and identity checks on you. They see that you have the income or assets to support paying off a $100,000 marker. You give the casino a check for $100,000.
They hold the check and give you a marker for $100,000 which means that you can get up in $100,000 in casino chips.
You get the $100,000 in casino chips and lose them all.
The casino can cash the check anytime that they want to.
You can work with them and setup a payment plan.
If you refuse then they will cash the check.
The check bounces then you have broken the law.
You can not write a check more than you have in the bank.
This guy wrote checks in amount of around $5 million to the casino. He refused to work with the casino. The casino tried to cash in the checks. They bounced. He broke the law by writing bad checks.
These people are adults. Nobody holds a gun to their head and force them to gamble or write checks to the casinos for markers. Also, nobody forces them to ignore the casinos request to work with them to pay off the marker.
Gambling is the oldest scam on the planet.
This is how it works. They take money from fools.
Come on $100,000 is a long way from $5 million. Was he playing on the $100,000 a spin slot machine? This had to take weeks to lose $5 million. $5 million? Come on.
Ya, wouldn't you think the casino would do a better job of checking people (and their 'claim' of prosperity) out before just handing that kind of money over to them?
Feeding off a person's addiction. Isn't that wonderful? It's like offering a drunk more and more booze; "Here, let me top that off for ya! There you go, this will make you feel so much better. Drink up now, we have more."
maybe i should get a $5mil marker and just cash it out and run with it haha
Pay up scumbag.
They let them run it up so high because they are just as greedy as the person that their giveing the marker too. Im sure in there eyes,give him all he wants to loose to us,and collect later...
This man should be allowed to simply declare bankruptcy protection from his debt...THAT is exactly what the casinos have been doing the past 8 months eh?
Poor GVR, they gambled and bet that this guy would pay them back. LMAO!
how are the casinos any different then credit card companies, they over extend people then own them. i thought i read in the past that the whales only paid pennies on the dollar for their debts just to keep them hooked. remember there is no tangable item gone it's just a toss of the dice
The real question is will Canada extradite someone for the relatively minor crime of not paying a casino marker? All that might happen is that he de-facto banned himself from the USA, which would not be so bad.
Makes ya wonder if the casino staffers involved in giving this loser the markers are still with the company.
I *bet* there's plenty more casinos who aren't seeing their "whales" paying up...
In Canada the law would never allow this sort of extortion. The casino never advanced real money. They gave this poor guy more chips to lose. Now they have the taxpayer picking up the cost of collecting their "winnings".
The better question (and the one not often asked, at least by non attorneys) is whether it's a good use of public resources to have the vast majority of the Bad Check Unit devoted to debt collection for relatively well-off casinos, rather than small businesses who can't afford to hire lawyers to chase those who default on their bad checks.
If the Casino is stupid enough to advance someone
let alone a foreigner 5 million without collateral
they deserve to loose it.
This guy will never go back to the U.S
The Canadian should offer Stations .10 on the dollar ($50,000) and call it even.