Dr. Wong said that he had amassed the enormous losses at The Star Gold Coast casino due to a dealer’s repeated mistakes
Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group is suing a Singaporean high roller for A$43.2 million he purportedly lost playing baccarat at the company’s The Star Gold Coast casino, news outlet The New Paper reports.
The Star flew Singaporean businessman Wong Yew Choy to its Queensland casino last summer. Dr. Wong, who is a frequent visitor of major casinos around the world and is often treated to various incentives by gambling venues, was invited by a marketing representative of The Star to visit The Star Gold Coast.
The Australian gambling company flew the Singaporean high roller with a private jet and offered him A$200,000 as “lucky money”, Dr. Wong said in court.
The Star claimed that upon his arrival on July 26, 2018, the casino patron requested a cheque cashing facility for the total amount of A$40 million and provided a blank cheque. The casino approved his request and handed him A$40 million worth in chips. The facility was raised by another A$10 million a few days later.
Dr. Wong decided not to play beyond July 29 as he accumulated losses that he blamed on mistakes made by the dealer. The high roller said in court that he was persuaded to continue playing by a senior executive at The Star and that the dealer’s mistakes were acknowledged by the gambling venue in writing.
The Star Files a Lawsuit
Dr. Wong kept playing at The Star Gold Coast after he was promised that no further mistakes would be made by the dealer. The high roller gambler warned the casino that he would not pay for any losses on the account of the repeated mistakes.
The casino patron told court that the same mistake occurred on August 1. By September 7, Dr. Wong had amassed losses of A$43.2 million. The Star wrote that amount into the blank cheque it had received from the gambler.
Back in Singapore, Dr. Wong told his bank to stop the payment, arguing that he did not owe the casino anything as the gambling venue failed to prevent the occurrence of the mistakes.
The Star filed last month a lawsuit in the High Court of Dr. Wong’s homeland seeking to be paid the A$43.2 million losses the gambler had accumulated.
Dr. Wong said that he would contest the case “as a matter of principle and intends to fully vindicate his decision to stop payment.” The gambler further told court that he did not request a credit cheque facility and that was offered the A$40 million facility by the casino to obtain playing chips on credit.
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