Star Entertainment, operator of the Star Gold Coast casino in Queensland, Australia is facing off in court with a Singapore high roller who owes AU$43.2 million (US$30.5 million) in money lost at baccarat.
According to the Singapore Press, VIP businessman Wong Yew Choy says the dealer made mistakes on his baccarat games, thereby absolving him of responsibility for the debt. It is reportedly the largest outstanding debt ever filed in Singapore.
Wong says he was invited by Star to visit the casino, was flown in by private jet and given AU$200,000 (US$142,000) in “lucky money.”
The Star says he asked for a credit totaling AU$50 million and lost most of it at baccarat. Wong claims that the dealer made mistakes during the game; the mistakes were acknowledged in writing by a casino official, the Press reported. When he stopped gambling, Wong says, he was persuaded to rejoin the game by a casino official on the condition that he would not be liable for the debt to that point.
Wong contends that the dealer once again made the same, unspecified mistake, and he stopped gambling. He stopped payment on his credit line, and the Star sued.
“Dr. Wong will contest the Singapore case as a matter of principle and intends to fully vindicate his decision to stop payment,” said the businessman’s lawyer, Abraham Vergis.
The case was filed less than three months after Wynn Macau won a landmark cross-jurisdictional case in Malaysia to recoup a HK$33 million debt from a Malaysian fund manager, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
