Tabcorp Pursues Legal Action Against Baccarat High-Roller for Bouncing Cheque

On January 30th, 2009, a high-roller owes gaming giant Tabcorp a total of $11.5 million, bouncing checks in exchange for cash that he lost while enjoying a night at Tabcorp's baccarat tables in Sydney and on the Gold Coast. Tabcorp Chief Executive Officer Elmer Funke Kupper declined to identify the gambler who have swindled the online casino but said that he was a well-known VIP player in casino facilities across the Asian continent.

Tabcorp is in the midst of negotiations with the player about the repayment of the debut but has made an $11.5 million in provision in its first half profit in the instance that the money is not given back. Mr. Funke Kupper said that like any other type of business, you expect to receive your money back, but these type of things happen from time to time. CEO Funke Kupper said that although the casino facilities of Tabcorp did not normally give credit to players in order to play, but it did allow regular VIP;s to cash cheques instantly for use at the gambling tables.

Funke Kupper said that these are players who bet big amounts of money over a set period of time-they tend to be baccarat enthusiasts, in some cases betting between $100,000 and $300 per hand, so these are very important players. So it is not unusual to have such facilities in place for this type of players and so in that sense this is not an unusual occurrence. What is unusual is that they have to take some provisions against it. The game of baccarat, a favorite of late media mogul Kerry Packer and super-spy James Bond, is well-known among VIP players as the casino's probability of winning is only two percent better than the gambler's-a much smaller casino advantage than the game of roulette, where the casino edge is five percent.

It is widely believed that the player was a regular at Tabcorp's Star City Casino in Sydney as well as its Jupiters casino facility on the Gold Coast, but has been told not to step inside on any of Tabcorp's casino until he clears his debts. Funke Kupper said that they do not allow people to play who owed them money. Funke Kupper estimated that there were only about thirty "whales" in the casino market-in the whole world.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Danny McCain