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twitterHigh roller posts $1.5 million bail to avoid jail stay
Man faces charges stemming from $14.7 million in gambling debts
Steve Marcus
Terrance K. Watanabe, right, 52, of Omaha, Neb., appears in court with attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld (background) at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Watanabe, in a negotiated deal, posted $1.5 million and turned himself in for processing. According to prosecutors, the high-rolling philanthropist owes $14.7 million to Caesars Palace and the Rio, which are owned by Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 | 8:48 a.m.
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Beyond the Sun
Nebraska philanthropist Terrance K. Watanabe made his initial appearance this morning in Las Vegas Justice Court on felony charges of theft and passing bad checks stemming from $14.7 million in gambling debts.
His Las Vegas attorney, David Chesnoff, submitted a $1.5 million check in court to pay for Watanabe's bail after Justice of the Peace Bill Jansen signed an arrest warrant sought by the district attorney's bad check unit.
Jansen ordered him released after going through the booking process at the Clark County Detention Center.
Jansen scheduled a status check in the case for April 21.
Watanabe, wearing a charcoal blazer and light beige pants, stood quietly in court with his hands clasped in front of him during the brief court appearance.
Afterward, he declined comment, but Chesnoff said his client planned to fight the charges.
"Mr. Watanabe has consistently shown himself to be an honorable customer of the gaming institutions in Nevada, and that will certainty be a defense," Chesnoff said.
Watanabe's case is the largest ever brought by the district attorney’s bad check unit
According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Bernie Zadrowski, who runs the unit, the 52-year-old Watanabe of Omaha, Neb., owes the massive debt to Caesars Palace and the Rio, which are owned by Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.
On top of that, Watanabe now is to be billed a state-mandated fee for the bad check unit’s handling of the case. Because the fee is based on the size of the debt, the amount for Watanabe is $1.48 million.
Watanabe’s wealth comes from the Omaha-based Oriental Trading Co., a wholesale novelty importer founded by his father. The younger Watanabe ran the company from 1977 until 2000, when he sold it. He has his own charitable trust foundation and is known as a generous donor to nonprofit organizations.
Watanabe is facing a four-page complaint prepared by the district attorney charging him with two counts of theft and two counts of passing bad checks at the Rio and Caesars Palace in 2007.
He allegedly obtained $2.7 million in markers from the Rio by writing eight bad checks from Oct. 22 to Nov. 26, 2007, according to a copy of the complaint. He obtained another $12 million in markers from Caesars Palace using 30 bad checks from Nov. 11 to Dec. 11, 2007, the complaint charges.
The checks, the complaint notes, ranged from $200,000 to $875,000.
Discussion: 18 comments so far…
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Out of Curiosity if he's in court for passing bad checks in the first place, what are the odds that a bail check for 1.5 million is any good? I would think if you had a history of bouncing checks another payment method would be needed. Hey what do i know i'm just a layman.
I was thinking the same thing.
IMO the guy has spent all his money and is now broke...
Take my word of it....no checks accepted. Liens on homes,property are what they go after.Hope this guy has over 14 million in homes,property or I guess it will be jail time....oops!!
Hey look at it this way...he'll help Las Vegas and its economy.
The poor (rich) guy has a problem. A rich philanthropist in Vegas. He should be almost anyplace else. He has a concience, he has a heart, his health is good, his brain is somewhat functional, he has the "well-being" of others in his mind, plus he has all that money??? Doesn't that make him the same as "sucker bait" in Vegas.
He should take it all to the US Supreme Court. They may rule that he only has to pay his "honest debts".
Ask the "Nevada Ethics Commission". (Ask them what?)
I forgot. Label him a "high roller", then he can be put under the jail if necessary.
Just another rich fatcat who thinks he can buy his way out of his legal problems - sad thing is - he probably will.
I'll bet that Mr Chesnoff, got his money up front.
The more obvious question: How does he write 30 bad checks in a 60 day period? The casinos would have known the first few checks bounced but they keep on pushing those markers.
The Casinos are much like a bank...they know your credit history and they know where you play (If you're a high roller) Ceasers would know if this guy bounced at RIO and vice versa.
The Casinos know they guy's chance and losing the marker is VERY high..so why not? Dig him in as far as possible...
Anyone who loses that kind of money has a problem...
This is why much of America acctually enjoys the Casino Corp meltdown in Vegas and AC...time for those markers to get called in!
What's the "Nevada Ethics Commission"
supposed to do? You know, nothing.
You and I both know enough about Vegas Gaming.
I used to work directly for this guy in Omaha and he's no saint. I hope he gets everything that's coming to him. I don't feel one bit sorry for him. Oh the stories I could tell!!
It sounds like a story.
I always keep a cool 1.5 mil in cash just in case I need it to bond out...
Looks like O.J. is gonna have a cell mate.
I may be mistaken, but I believe I read that Vegas considers unpaid "markers" as bad checks, since it is based off of credit allocated to the player. So this guy really isnt writing bad checks, its him not paying his markers.
You'd think that after him not paying the first couple million they would of cut the guy off---THATS Vegas for ya! Keep givin the guy money so he can gamble and lose it right back, then cry poor that the guy hasnt paid them back. Unreal!
After watching this guy lose millions the way he plays, and seeing several of my co-workers lose their jobs to him, it is hard to feel any sympathy.
He was cut off from one major casino in town because he owed $6 million. They told him he had to pay before they gave him more credit. So he paid and stomped off in a hissy and stopped frequenting this casino.
The guy has problems, that's for sure.
only person making out here will be the lawyer. It would be cheaper for him to pay the debt than these court costs. Believe me, Terry has the money! More than you can imagine.
Any other business would just have to write off his "credit" as a bad debt and move on. It is easy enough before each trip for Caesars or Rio to check this high rollers bank balance to see if there was money in the account. The fact that they gave this guy "credit" anyway is just another example of casino greed in taking advantage of someone who may have lost control.
Gary Loveman talks a good game in those Public Service Announcements about Harrah's caring about problem gamblers...but when push comes to shove they will take the money anyway they can get it.
Casino Credit should be treated as just that...credit. That would make casinos think long and hard about how much and whom they give credit to. The other 49 states should pass laws that make it impossible to extridite anyone to Nevada for not paying off their casino bills. Casinos should have to sue for their money like everyone else in the event of a bad debt.
Well, I work in Vegas at a casino. Terrance Wantanabe was a good customer to our casino. He is a very thoughtful man. I find it hard to believe he is as bad as they are making him out to be. maybe the casinos should limit markers to a certain amount...Where was upper management with the brochures on problem gambling? They have to have them in the casinos by Law...Why didn't the management hand him a brochure??? I'll tell you why....GREED!!!!! Casinos are Greedy!