Las Vegas Casino Debt Could Land Canadian Man Behind Bars
What happens in Las Vegas doesn’t always stay in Las Vegas.
A Canadian businessman who reportedly owes millions of dollars to Sin City casinos could find himself sitting in a very small cell for several years if he doesn’t pay up very soon. According to The Associated Press, Semion Kronenfeld racked up an extremely hefty debt at two establishments nearly five years ago.
The Venetian Resort, Hotel, and Casino in Las Vegas is currently interested in getting the $7.9 million Kronenfeld owes in gambling debts, while the Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino wants to collect $5 million in IOUs.
Unfortunately for the Canadian businessman, a grand jury recently indicted him on charges of bad cheques, felony theft, and obtaining large sums of money under false pretenses. Although a warrant was later issued for his arrest, Clark County prosecutor Jake Merback said Kronenfeld’s whereabouts are currently unknown.
This isn’t the first time the two Las Vegas casinos attempted to collect the businessman’s debts. The Venetian and the Green Valley Ranch tracked Kronenfeld down back in 2008. Shortly after the casinos tried to squeeze $12.9 million from his bank account, Kronenfeld filed for bankruptcy in Canada.
Kronenfeld is charged with failing to repay millions in IOUs, also known as markers, to the Las Vegas casinos. Reports indicate that this is the largest case of its kind to reach Nevada Legislature under the 1995 bad cheque law.
However, not everyone feels that casino markers are the same as cheques. Ice cream mogul Harel Zahavi, who owed $384,000 in IOUs to several establishments in 2008, believes markers are actually business loans since the casinos take a while to cash them in.
If the casinos manage to track down Kronenfeld, then he could spend a few decades behind bars for skipping out on his casino debts. At the time he filed for bankruptcy, the Canadian businessman blamed the establishments for getting him hooked on gambling.
“I was treated as a VIP at American and Canadian casinos. I was provided markers and always repaid them. This treatment led to a gambling addiction which I suffer from even today and am currently in treatment,” he said in court documents from 2009.
Craig Mueller, Kronenfeld’s Las Vegas attorney, hasn’t responded to the charges against his client as of this writing. It’s unclear if Mueller has any idea where the businessman is hiding out these days.
What do you think about the man who owes $12.9 million in casino debts in Las Vegas?
[Image via Wikimedia Commons]
