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By Cara McCoy 
Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 | 9:34 a.m.
Walker
Sun Archives
The gambling debts of former NBA star Antoine Walker have been negotiated and today at a court hearing Walker made his first payment toward resolving $905,050 owed to three Las Vegas casinos.
Walker forfeited a $135,000 cash bond toward the debt today in Las Vegas Justice Court. Under a deal negotiated with prosecutors, Walker, who faces three felony bad check charges for debts at Red Rock Resort, Planet Hollywood and Caesars Palace, will pay a minimum of $12,835 a month to resolve the remaining $770,050 in debt, said his lawyer, Jonathan Powell.
When the debt is repaid in full, the case will be dismissed, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Bernie Zadrowski. Walker has no prior record. He wasn’t present for the hearing.
Walker played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008. He won a championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat and was a three-time all-star for the Boston Celtics. He is currently unemployed, and the $12,835 figure is contingent upon Walker’s continued unemployment.
If he gains employment, he will repay $21,391 a month over three years.
A complaint charges Walker with three felony counts of passing checks with insufficient funds from July 27, 2008, to Jan. 19 at the three casinos.
The complaint alleges he wrote 10 separate checks for $100,000 each, for gambling markers. Gambling debts in Nevada are handled as bad check cases.
Zadrowski, who heads the bad check diversion unit, said he was pleased with the agreement.
“In our estimation, it’s a very good agreement. He’s forfeited $135,000 cash that he posted for bail – it’s no longer in question, it’s not to ensure his appearance anymore, it is a payment to the victims,” he said.
“This is a good thing for the victim, it’s a good thing for the defendant — it is exactly, in my estimation, what the bad check diversion program was set up for by the legislature and it’s what the legislature had in mind. We are able to work with the defendants to get the victims paid.”
The case is remaining in justice court as part of the agreement. If Walker misses a payment, it will be transferred to district court and set for trial.
Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson warned against a missed payment, saying if Walker failed on his end of the bargain, she would send the case to district court “so quick it will make your head spin.”
A status check on Walker’s progress was set for June 1.
hard to believe after all of the money this guys made that he cant cut a check to take care of his debts
Calling the casino's "victims" is a bit of a stretch.
I saw him the other day playing .01 video poker.
Did they keep him boozed and drugged up to get all his money?
"He is currently unemployed, and the $12,835 figure is contingent upon Walker's continued unemployment."
Boy, if unemployment insurance paid out this well, I would get myself fired today. I guess there is a decent retirement system in the NBA.
He is also being accused in Chicago of being a slum landlord.
we all can see what the district attorney's priorities are...
they jumped all over walker...
for the benefit of the casinos...
yet...
and yet...
nothing has been filed to date against the doctors involved in the hepatitis epidemic...
something that would benefit the citizens of nevada...
all we have gotten in that regard is excuses, and tortured rationalizations, and pathetic attempts to lower expectations...
listen up boys and girls...
district attorney david roger is a clown...
a rip roaring yuck yuck clown...
like bozo...
quick question...
do you think desai, carrol and carerra will get some golf in this week???
If I could suck twelve grand a month from the sand, you bet I'd get up for it! Poor guy's life is ruined. What's the incentive to go past the burger joint? He's over the hill in a young guy's game. Anybody who'd hire him for the kind of money he needs is doin awful stuff. I bet they drugged him like they did Wattanabe. Hey, have you tried these?
LMAO casinos as victims? LMAO
tvegas, I was thinking the same though just remembered reading Binions has all but closed and MGM can't afford to keep their bars open late.
Has anybody suggested he quit gambling for a while. I'm not saying he's a bad guy but I'll bet dollars to donuts he's back in the paper for not making payments on this debt.
The reason why? He'll run up even more gambling debts elsewhere.
He should learn the the words LAST CALL on everything.
As Rick James would say...Gamblings a helluva drug. It's got to be tough to sleep at night for Mr. Walker.
There is a national debate what might constitute Casino Predatory Gambling. For example, is it predatory gambling if a casino knowingly allows a gambler to write many "uncovered checks" over a period of time for example three weeks, for hundreds of thousands of dollars, before suing or prosecuting the debtor for bad checks?
Studies are being made to determine whether casino gambling causes a net loss to communities, at taxpayer expense. Increasingly the question is being raised, do Casinos in certain communities, manufacture sufficient negative energy to psychologically impact, damage the economic output of a citizenry, where a certain percentage gamble, because most gamblers experience failure when wagering; this psychological issue is being considered separately from gamblers that lose their rent money, mortgage payment and money needed to buy their children food.
This guy made $100 million in his NBA career. The court should mandate counseling for gambling addiction for this guy. I wonder how much he lost before he ran up these markers?
Rwolf's suggestion is supported by the legal theory of causation. Can a casino foresee gambling losses by patrons and the resultant ripple effect in a community? If so, a casino perpetrates a "social harm".
I doubt Mr. Walker's problem is gambling as in Casino etc. Antoine(spelled by the Sun)would be broke in most any universe.
Gotta give the guy credit for working out a deal to pay it up. Sounds like after he started making the big money, everybody wanted to be his friend. I imagine he will find plenty of work in coaching, television, etc. The casinos need to have a system in place to make sure credit isn't extended to such numbers. He obviously just hopped to the next one when the markers stopped. One thing's for sure, he's a LOUSY gambler!
Sigh...couldn't you have invested your money in something other than gambling? Where were your money managers, accountants?? Damn all that, where was your common sense?!?!?
HOW DO YOU GET MARKERS WITH A CHECK? Everytime I write a check, they check the funds electronically. Did they finally check after the 9th one? I guess its more important to check my $300.00 check.