Courts:

Court date set for man with $1 million gambling debt

Friday, Oct. 9, 2009 | 11:29 a.m.

The case of a software designer accused of failing to pay $1 million in gambling debts to a Las Vegas casino is moving forward with a status check scheduled for later this month.

Dennis Montgomery, 56, is charged with obtaining money under false pretenses and theft after failing to repay Caesars Palace for nine checks he wrote in September 2008. The checks varied in amounts from $10,000 to $250,000.

He was arrested in Southern California on a felony warrant from Clark County in July. Montgomery posted bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, Calif., and is no longer in custody.

Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle set the status check for 8 a.m. Oct. 30 and requested that Montgomery be present. He did not appear in court today, but his lawyer, Richard Shonfeld, appeared on his behalf.

Oesterle set the date after prosecutor Chris Owens denied a payment plan Schonfeld proposed.

“We made a very reasonable proposal,” Schonfeld said. “I guess the D.A. wants time to contemplate.”

Schonfeld had proposed a monthly payment plan with staggered increases. It would start at $50,000 a month, then increase to $75,000 and finally in March, to $100,000 monthly until the debt was repaid.

In 2006, Montgomery was involved in a public dispute with his former employer, eTreppid Technologies owner Warren Trepp. The dispute came about after Montgomery left the company. Both men sued each other over secretive software that was said to be worth millions. They later reached a legal settlement.

Montgomery also had alleged that Gov. Jim Gibbons received gifts and money -- including casino chips and a Caribbean cruise -- from Trepp to secure defense contracts while Gibbons was a congressman. Both Gibbons and Trepp denied these allegations.

The FBI investigated Gibbons and cleared him of all wrongdoing in November 2008.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Discussion: 22 comments so far…

By environprotector

10/9/09 at 1:22 p.m.

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I'll say it again! what kind of bozo pit boss or credit manager allow's a million dollars in credit to anyone who isn't named Bill Gates? gimme a break! Ceasars once again blew it!
By mred

10/9/09 at 1:30 p.m.

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We need JURY NULIFICATION on all these cases, this is a waste of taxpayer time and money, and I don't care what the DA and Casino makes on this, too bad.
By logic_should_rule

10/9/09 at 1:47 p.m.

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To the misinformed:

Casinos give large amounts of credit because it does, in fact get paid. Only the rare exceptions make news and they too eventually pay up including a hefty penalty.
By wizardofOz

10/9/09 at 2:49 p.m.

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As much as we may think about it in this comments section, LEGALLY LICENSED Nevada Casinos have a right to get paid, too.

I will ask you this question:

If you put put $3 Bucks in a machine and hit the MEGABUCKS, and the casino said, SORRY, we were only KIDDING, what would YOU do...?

(as usual, the disclaimer: gambling should only be done by those legally entitled to do so. FOLLOW ALL NEVADA GAMBLING LAWS, i.e. NO minors, cheating, etc., but you knew that anyway)
By environprotector

10/9/09 at 3:27 p.m.

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logic_should_rule : It's not a case of misinformed, it's a matter of sound marker/credit approval practices. If you have noticed there have been many cases in this area which clog up the Nevada courts at taxpayer expense. The casinos should be required by law to only extend credit based on pre-paid accounts with the casino linked to every check dispensed by the compulsive gambler who is going to foolishly lose every penny he has.. this way it stays out of our court system, and by the way protects that poor compulsive fool from federal larceny charges etc. etc.
By logic_should_rule

10/9/09 at 3:58 p.m.

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environprotector- I don't think a true problem exists. I think I can count the issues on one hand that have arose this year.
By JohnDeaux

10/9/09 at 5:04 p.m.

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Bet everything you have that Richard Schonfeld will not go to trial.

It is lucky for the casino that Chris Owen is handling this case and not that basement-dweller Bernie Zadrowski. In my opinion, Zadrowski would accept the payment plan, then forget about it, having status check after status check, with Schonfeld telling the court how, with the economy being bad, his client does not have the funds to abide by the payment plan.

Chris Owens has more cajones...he has a slam dunk case, so why negotiate? Payment plan, Slayment Plan...get the money now, or the criminal defense attorney will continue it till its off the radar and no one cares. Schonfeld will of course be paid...if his client Montgomery does not pay him he'll file a Motion to Withdraw faster than you can say Zadrowski.
By 2zero

10/9/09 at 5:24 p.m.

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The case has nothing to do with a bad debit. It is a bad CHECK case.

Casinos should not be allowed to issue (bank) checks while serving alcohol! Or maybe on the other hand we should allow banks to get you drunk during loan applications????

If Nevada casinos were like the rest of the world, they would issue markers (credit, not checks) and then they would be much more careful who gets the line of CREDIT.
By LasVegasLawyerGal

10/9/09 at 7:46 p.m.

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Alas, until and unless the NV Supremes overrule Ngyuen v. State, the DA will continue to serve as the armed collection agency for NV's casinos. Granted, an argument can be made that the DA's office should enforce the state's bad check laws on behalf of NV's merchants--but one would imagine there are scads of small businesspeople who (unlike the casinos) *can't* afford legal representation to defend their interests.
By boomeranddalejr

10/10/09 at 4:06 a.m.

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you should have to bring your money to the casino and put in the back in a vault to use it - no checks - especially during hard times - hey why not everyone go to a casino and cash a 5 thousand check and gamble?? Maybe we can parlay that into 7 thousand??
By aroundworld365

10/10/09 at 9:40 a.m.

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Is Harrahs only committing this stuff on their customers? I dont hear too much from others trying to go after their customers.

The Harrahs should pull the commercial about responsible gambling. It is a joke. Its a misrepresentation and if not false advertisment. They should be legally responsible for putting on false ads.
By Bakersfield

10/10/09 at 4:06 p.m.

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I tend to believe that the casinos should be more careful about who has credit extended to them, and their ability to repay. (Maybe they did). If you go to a car dealership and write a $30,000 check for a new car, they will verify with the bank before handing over the keys, unless they already have a previous business relationship with you and are satisfied the check is good. That said, It is the duty of this loser to pay up on his debt. If he can afford 50 to 100k a month, he's obviously able to clear it up in 1 - 2 years. And he should be responsible for paying the county back double the costs they spend prosecuting this case. What ever happened to Terrence Watanabe?
By cactusdan

10/10/09 at 6:07 p.m.

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Those penny machines sure can be deceiving. I bet you my bus pass, that he is a no show on oct 30.
By Harley

10/10/09 at 6:59 p.m.

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""obtaining money under false pretenses and theft"?

Now ain't that there the pot calling the kettle black?

: )
By Harley

10/10/09 at 8:37 p.m.

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Wise man once say, "regulated gaming is more criminally corrupt than its competing unregulated version".

: (
By Vegasvampire

10/10/09 at 11:37 p.m.

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To the really misinformed, Nevada Law states that Markers are considered Checks. Therefore if you forge or don't pay off a marker or check, it is a felony.
By qwill

10/11/09 at 2:06 a.m.

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The old mob way was best. A midnight ride to the desert.
By Babyboomer

10/11/09 at 8:02 a.m.

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Environprotector has it right...what BOZO allowed it to go this far. I would certainly hope he's not working there any more...if he is,he shouldn't be.
By Bakersfield

10/11/09 at 2:20 p.m.

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Qwill,
Of course, that Midnight ride is a one way ticket!
The old "Roughing up" by a few mobsters was usually effective too. Usually 24 hours before the aforementioned midnight ride.
I know a guy who worked security at a casino in the 1960's. He said a dealer was caught stealing. They took him upstairs and whacked his hands with a hammer (hard, on a table) and tossed him out the back door.
By environprotector

10/13/09 at 10:11 a.m.

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Here's the real rub.. think about it, the Casino has won all of your money, lets say you just lost a million dollars. THEY ALREADY HAVE YOUR MONEY! so if they extend you credit or accept bad checks that you lose again, it doesn't really matter does it? THEY ALREADY HAVE YOUR MONEY!!! LOL!!
By MrBumble

10/19/09 at 5:14 p.m.

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Nobody mentioned that this Dennis Montgomery is the same Dennis Montgomery that falsely accused Gibbons of taking bribes and settled out of court for making false accusations at the same time as settling for around $20M for software he absconded with from a Reno company. He has since filed Bankruptcy! Now he is trying to set up a payment plan that starts at $50k and goes up to $100k PER MONTH! Where does this money come from? By the way he punked out on the settlement, never paid, can't pay his lawyers who are also suing him and now is lying to the court by submitting a payment plan that he has no way of paying.