Horseshoe owner to appeal order to cash chips

Jeff German and Gary Thompson

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1998 | 11:04 a.m.

Horseshoe Club owner Becky Behnen said today she will appeal a decision by state gaming regulators ordering her to cash $250,000 in $5,000 chips held by former casino boss Bob Stupak.

"I'm definitely going to appeal," Behnen told the Sun. "I need to look more at the paper trail of his activities at the Horseshoe."

Behnen said the state Gaming Control Board made its decision Tuesday based only on Stupak's word.

"We have to go back and gather up a lot of information," she said. "This is information that the board and even I haven't seen."

But Stupak said today he's baffled by Behnen's attitude.

"She's been reviewing the records for two months," Stupak said. "The Control Board says their records and internal reports indicate the Horseshoe should pay me. I can't understand why they won't.

"I find it hard to believe that she won't comply with the order," he said. "I'd have lost a bet on that one. It's a shame that this seems to be getting worse."

Behnen, who bought the Horseshoe in July from her brother, Jack Binion, said she has cashed millions in chips from other gamblers after verifying the chips were won at the Horseshoe.

On Sunday, in fact, the casino cashed $600,000 worth of $5,000 chips turned in by a high-stakes gambler who often plays poker with Stupak at the Horseshoe. The gambler was accompanied by an attorney.

"I going to do the same research on him (Stupak) that I did on these people," Behnen said. "I would never deny anybody anything they have coming."

Stupak, a flamboyant gambler and developer of the Stratosphere Hotel and Tower, has been stirring up publicity over his chip dispute with the Horseshoe in recent weeks.

After the Horseshoe refused to cash a $5,000 chip, Stupak filed suit against the casino and lodged a complaint with the state Gaming Control Board.

On Tuesday, L. Paul Dix, a senior agent with the board's Enforcement Division, issued a two-page letter to the Horseshoe indicating "the facts and circumstances of the case substantiate" Stupak's claim that he is entitled to redeem the chips.

"The Horseshoe Club's records, as well as Gaming Control Board internal reports and records, reflect that Mr. Stupak is a longtime, well-recognized patron of the Horseshoe Club and has been known to possess $5,000 Horseshoe Club chips," Dix wrote.

Dix said the Horseshoe is obligated by state law to "promptly redeem" chips from its customers.

After learning of the Control Board order Tuesday, Stupak said he was pleased with the regulatory agency's decision. But informed this morning that Behnen plans to appeal, Stupak expressed surprise.

"I thought that since I had it rolling, I was definitely going to go down and try to cash the chips today," he said.

The Horseshoe has 20 days to either comply with the decision or appeal it.

Behnen said it would take her longer than 20 days to trace Stupak's gambling record.

Last week, Stupak received some support from an unlikely ally, leading national gaming critic, the Rev. Tom Grey.

On Friday, Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, filed suit against the Horseshoe after it declined to cash a $5,000 chip Stupak had given him.

Gaming sources said it's unlikely Grey will prevail in his dispute with the Horseshoe because he can't prove he's a customer of the casino.