Gambling is always thought to be one of the few industries that are recession proof. The economy of the United States over the last few years has certainly put that maxim to the test. From coast to coast, casinos across the country are posting lower returns, losses, and in some cases bankruptcy. There are a myriad of reasons why a casino might lose money from year to year. There are security, economic, personnel, and competition variables that all must be factored in. One variable that almost never makes it into a company’s press release is the amount of money currently owed by players. I am talking about markers. If a casino has a substantial amount of money, potentially millions, owed to it by various players this is in some sense lost money. It is money that cannot be invested back into the hotel or earn interest at a bank. There are costs associated with recovery including manpower, time, and in some cases legal fees.

 

Recently one of the newest casinos on the Las Vegas Strip took legal action against some well known celebrities to recover money they believed they were owed. Charles Barkley owed a six figure marker to the Wynn Las Vegas. Wynn not only filed the appropriate documents in court to seek payment but went so far as to put out a press release. The combination of legal action and public shaming worked as Barkley soon afterwards settled with Wynn. Barkley supposedly owed the Wynn approximately $400,000 in markers that were taken out last year.

 

When it comes to gaming most people view it as a leisure activity. However when people borrow large sums of money the casino and the state of Nevada sees this as more of a business transaction. The requirements to take out a marker are statutory and there must be signatures from both parties and an understanding of the amount being borrowed. This indicates that the transaction is really one of a contract. When a gambler steps into the pit and puts money down on the table there is generally no need to sign any sort of contract, but when gaming on credit the legal relationship changes to one of debtor and creditor. At the heart of the matter is the fact that casinos are in the business of making money.

 

Whether Wynn did the right thing or not by publicly naming those who owed it money is not for me to say. However their tactics were extremely effective in making sure that they got the money owed to them. As long as the gaming industry continues to suffer along with the rest of the economy I would not be surprised to see more casinos taking legal action to get their money.


PartyBets.com