The Star Casino is taking a Singaporean billionaire to court after he fled the country after falling into a massive AU$40-million debt to the gambling operators in just three days.
According to allegations, the well-known high-roller Yew Choy Wong dishonoured a blank cheque following a five-day losing streak while he played baccarat at The Star Gold Coast in July 2018.
As revealed by the documents that the gambling company filed in the Queensland Supreme Court, the VIP player came to the casino after being brought there by a marketing junket. He used the aforementioned blank check to open an account for AU$40 million in gambling chips, which he quickly lost on the baccarat table of The Star Gold Coast casino. The massive losing streak he was in, however, did not seem to bother the billionaire, who spent another AU$10 million to buy chips.
After spending a few days at the baccarat tables, Wong left The Star Casino with an overall debt of AU$43,209,853.34, including a room tab. However, after he got back to Singapore, the high-roller stopped the payment on the blank check he gave the casino to cover his losses there.
Singapore Court Dismissed Australian Casino’s Lawsuit against the VIP Gambler
Yesterday, the gambling operator was given the chance to pursue the billionaire in the Queensland Supreme Court, although it previously failed to bring Dr Wong to justice in Singapore.
Last year, the Singapore court dismissed the lawsuit filed by The Star casino against Dr Wong in an attempt to recover the money he owes for his losing gambling streak. At the time, the court cited the Singapore Civil Law Act under which the Government is not allowed to assist foreign companies that seek to recover debts associated with overseas gambling services.
As reported by The Daily Mail, the gambler called the claims against him “frivolous” and categorised them as an abuse of the court process. He was favoured by the International Judge Jeremy Cooke, who ordered the claim to be dismissed and the cheating casino player to receive AU$20,000 plus costs.
Star Entertainment, however, has decided not to give in and took its legal fight to the Queensland Supreme Court, seeking to recover the AU$43 million it is owed, plus interest and costs. To this, the high-roller casino player filed a conditional notice of intention to defend. Dr Wong disputed the jurisdiction of the Queensland Supreme Court in his case and argued that any further legal proceeding against him there would be an abuse of process.
The player’s application was dismissed yesterday by Justice Thomas Bradley, who also refused to put an end to the legal action started by The Star Casino. He explained that the casino’s claim in damages was straightforward, including under the provisions of the Cheques Act. The Justice also shared that he was not absolutely sure that allowing the legal proceeding to continue would lead to the desired result and the defendant would be made to pay his serious debt, however, a dismissal would be an injustice as it would have prevented the casino from having its claim against the high-roller determined on its merits.
- Author
Daniel Williams
