10 Gambling Disasters That Ended in Debt, Fraud, or Court Battles

Gambling can produce consequences far beyond the money lost at a table or sportsbook. Some of the cases below involve unpaid casino credit, while others center on fraud committed to finance gambling, disputed winnings, or enormous losses that ended in court. The details differ, but each case shows how quickly high-stakes gambling can become a financial or legal crisis.

This slideshow looks at 10 unusually large gambling-related financial cases, including casino debts, gambling-fueled fraud schemes, disputed casino winnings, and staggering losses. We break down how much money was involved, where each case unfolded, and what happened when casinos, investors, or law enforcement stepped in.

These cases should not all be treated the same. Some involved criminal fraud, some were civil disputes over casino credit or winnings, and others involved people whose gambling problems were documented in court records. Taken together, they show why it is important to separate confirmed losses and debts from allegations, disputed claims, and money stolen to finance gambling.

• Location: Near Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico (Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas)
• Amount: $16,710.24 owed to Royal Caribbean, mostly for casino and gaming expenses

Jey González-Díaz boarded Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas in San Juan on August 31, 2025, and returned on September 7. During disembarkation and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection, he jumped from the ship and was brought to shore by people on jet skis. Officers later found him near the Puerto Rico Capitol Building with $14,600 in cash, two phones, and five identification documents.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Royal Caribbean said he owed $16,710.24, almost entirely for casino and gaming expenses. González-Díaz told officers he jumped because he did not want to report the cash he was carrying because he believed he would owe duties. A federal grand jury indicted him on September 18, 2025, for failing to report transporting more than $10,000 into the United States. He pleaded guilty on January 14, 2026, and was sentenced on April 27, 2026, to two years of probation.

• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
• Amount: $265,000 in casino markers

Marcus Morris Sr., a longtime NBA forward who was selected 14th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA Draft, became the subject of two Nevada cases involving casino markers. Court records cited in reports on the cases said Morris obtained $115,000 in gambling credit from the MGM Grand in May 2024 and $150,000 from Wynn Las Vegas the following month.

Nevada authorities alleged the checks backing the markers could not be covered, and Morris was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 27, 2025, on the outstanding warrants. Morris disputed the characterization that he had committed fraud. After the $265,000 owed to the two casinos was paid, prosecutors dismissed the fraud and theft charges on August 6, 2025.

• Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Amount: Approximately $2.15 million taken from investors

Art Schlichter starred at quarterback for Ohio State and was selected fourth overall by the Baltimore Colts in the 1982 NFL Draft. His NFL career was derailed by gambling problems, including a suspension for the 1983 season. Years later, federal prosecutors said Schlichter solicited money beginning in 2008 for a supposed ticket-resale business involving Ohio State and NFL games.

Instead of using the money as promised, he spent it on personal expenses, gambling, or repayments of older debts. Schlichter pleaded guilty in 2011 to wire fraud, bank fraud, and filing a false tax return. In May 2012, a federal judge sentenced him to 127 months in prison for defrauding 55 investors of approximately $2.15 million.

• Location: Newport Beach, California — Las Vegas, Nevada
• Amount: At least $8.785 million in victim losses

Sara Jacqueline King, a Newport Beach lawyer who operated King Family Lending LLC, admitted that she solicited money for what she described as short-term, high-interest loans to wealthy borrowers. She told investors the loans would be secured by assets such as luxury cars, watches, yachts, and other property.

According to her federal plea agreement, however, King did not fund any of the promised loans and instead used investor money to gamble at Las Vegas casinos and support a lavish lifestyle. She admitted to causing five investors to lose at least $8,785,045. King pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering and, on May 5, 2025, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $8,785,045 in restitution.

• Location: Southern California
• Amount: Nearly $17 million stolen from Shohei Ohtani

Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter and de facto manager, began betting with an illegal bookmaker in September 2021 and soon accumulated substantial losses. Federal prosecutors said that from November 2021 through March 2024, Mizuhara used Ohtani’s password, changed security information on Ohtani’s bank account, and impersonated him in calls to the bank to authorize transfers. Mizuhara fraudulently obtained more than $16.975 million from Ohtani.

Prosecutors later disclosed that Mizuhara placed at least 19,000 bets from September 2021 through January 2024, with losses exceeding winnings by approximately $40.68 million. Ohtani was identified by prosecutors as the victim and was not accused of participating in the betting scheme. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return and was sentenced on February 6, 2025, to 57 months in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay $16,975,010 in restitution to Ohtani and $1,149,400 to the IRS.

• Location: London, UK — Crockfords Casino & Atlantic City, New Jersey — Borgata Casino
• Amount: £7.7 million withheld at Crockfords; $10.13 million Borgata judgment

Poker champion Phil Ivey and professional gambler Cheung Yin Sun used a technique known as edge sorting during high-stakes baccarat play in London and Atlantic City in 2012. Edge sorting takes advantage of tiny asymmetries in the patterns printed on the backs of certain playing cards. At Crockfords in London, Ivey won approximately £7.7 million, but the casino withheld the winnings.

The U.K. Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that the technique amounted to cheating under English law, so Ivey could not collect the money. At Borgata in Atlantic City, Ivey and Sun won $9.626 million playing baccarat. A federal court found that their use of edge sorting breached their obligation to comply with New Jersey casino law and entered a $10.13 million judgment for Borgata, including $504,000 Ivey later won playing craps. This was a dispute over winnings and casino rules, not a conventional unpaid gambling debt.

• Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia — The Star Gold Coast
• Amount: A$43.21 million claimed by The Star

Singapore citizen Wong Yew Choy was a patron of The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, from July 26 to August 2, 2018. The casino said Wong incurred approximately A$43.21 million in gambling losses under a credit arrangement and later stopped payment on a replacement cheque. Wong disputed liability, pointing in part to dealer errors and an alleged oral agreement with casino management.

The Star brought its claim in Singapore, but the Singapore International Commercial Court did not order Wong to pay. On July 7, 2020, the court dismissed The Star’s action and allowed Wong’s application to strike it out, holding that Singapore law barred the court from entertaining an action to recover those foreign gambling losses. The ruling addressed enforcement in Singapore rather than deciding that the underlying gambling transactions were invalid.

• Location: San Jose, California & Las Vegas, Nevada
• Amount: More than $65 million stolen through the kickback scheme

Ausaf Umar Siddiqui, who goes by Omar, was vice president of merchandising and operations at Fry’s Electronics in San Jose, California. Federal investigators said that beginning by 2005, Siddiqui arranged secret deals in which certain vendors paid unusually large commissions to a company he controlled while Fry’s bought their merchandise at inflated prices.

Authorities tied the scheme to more than $65 million in money diverted from Fry’s and its vendors, while court filings and investigators also documented enormous gambling activity in Las Vegas. Siddiqui pleaded guilty in 2011 to wire fraud and money laundering. On December 8, 2011, a federal judge sentenced him to six years in prison, and he agreed to restitution or forfeiture exceeding $65 million.

• Location: Singapore; casinos in Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, and the Philippines
• Amount: S$62 million lost at casinos

Chia Teck Leng was finance manager of Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore) when he used forged company documents to obtain unauthorized credit and loan facilities from four foreign banks. Singapore court records say he cheated the banks of about S$117.1 million between 1999 and 2003.

Much of the money passed through accounts he controlled before being sent to casinos in Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Investigators determined that about S$62 million was lost through gambling. Chia was arrested on September 2, 2003, and later pleaded guilty to 14 charges, with 32 additional charges taken into consideration. On April 2, 2004, Singapore’s High Court sentenced him to a total of 42 years in prison.

• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada — Caesars Palace & Rio casinos
• Amount: Nearly $127 million in reported 2007 losses; $14.75 million later disputed as unpaid casino debt

Terrance Watanabe, the former head and part-owner of Oriental Trading Company, became one of Las Vegas’s most famous high rollers after a staggering run of losses in 2007. Reports at the time said Watanabe wagered more than $825 million at Caesars Palace and the Rio and lost nearly $127 million. Harrah’s later pursued approximately $14.75 million in unpaid casino markers, leading to criminal charges in Nevada.

Watanabe disputed the debt and countersued, alleging that casino personnel had supplied him with alcohol and prescription medication and allowed him to continue gambling while impaired; Harrah’s denied wrongdoing. The civil and criminal disputes ended in a confidential settlement in July 2010, and the criminal case was dismissed.