Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

Yesterday a Wisconsin businessman was arraigned for allegedly not paying back $3.75 million in casino markers to Caesars Palace and the Hard Rock Hotel. His attorney said before the hearing, “All of it is in dispute . . . He never ran up that kind of debt and how he got that much credit is shocking.” The businessman faces up to eighteen years in prison if he's convicted.

Markers are short-term zero-interest loans that casinos lend qualified customers to encourage them to gamble. Nevada casino marker law makes it a crime to not pay back these markers, usually within thirty days. If the marker is for $250 or more, the customer can be charged with a felony, carrying one to four years, up to $5,000 in fines, administrative fees and full restitution. Unpaid markers of less than $250 are prosecuted as misdemeanors, carrying up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.

Anyone charged with breaking Nevada casino marker law who then flees Nevada may be extradited back into the state to answer charges. If someone accused of breaking Nevada casino marker law has no criminal history, then prosecutors are usually very willing to negotiate a payment plan and to dismiss the case without any jail once restitution has been made. If the state decides not to prosecute a casino marker case, the casinos can sue civilly.

Read more about this case at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/22/man-enters-plea-over-charges-tied-375m-markers/.

Former NFL offensive lineman Ross Verba was recently charged with three counts of writing bad checks (NRS 205.130) to the Palms in January of last year. He’s allegedly run up $26,000 in unpaid casino markers, which are treated as bad checks in Nevada. He was arrested last week in Phoenix.

Casino markers are loans that Nevada casinos allow patrons to borrow for short periods of time, usually ten to thirty days. Most people mistakenly believe that unpaid casino markers is a civil matter. But if the markers are not paid back in time, casinos will report it to the DA, who will then issue a warrant for your arrest for breaking NRS 205.130.

The DA will usually dismiss charges for NRS 205.130 if you pay them back, even over a long period of time as part of a payment plan. However, failing to pay back casino markers of over $250 dollars is a felony, carrying up to four years in prison, $5,000 in fines and full restitution.

On Monday, former Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon was arrested for breaking Las Vegas casino marker law—he allegedly racked up $150,000 worth of unpaid casino markers at Caesar’s Palace in March. He was originally apprehended in a Colorado Bowling Alley and booked at the Weld County Jail. His bail was set at $165,000.

Las Vegas casino marker law treats unpaid casino markers like bad checks. Any unpaid casino marker of $250 or more is chargeable as a category D felony, carrying one to four years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine, plus the amount of the unpaid markers.

If the marker is for under $250, Las Vegas casino marker law treats it as just a misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine (plus the amount of the marker). However, if someone’s been convicted of three such misdemeanors, a fourth conviction is automatically a felony.

Last Monday California businessman Kirk Vartanian appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court on charges of theft and unpaid casino markers. In 2007, he allegedly passed a total of $250,000 in bad checks at two Las Vegas casinos—the Venetian and the Wynn.

Under the current deal with prosecutors, Vartanian must pay $3,771 a month for the next four years. He’s already repaid $60,000 and, according to reports, an additional $9,000 before that. Once the full amount is repaid, the case will be dismissed.

Judge Nancy Oesterle scheduled a status check hearing in January at Las Vegas Justice Court, though Vartanian won’t be required to attend.

Vartanian has also been charged with assault and domestic violence in California.

Former NBA player Antoine Walker was recently arrested at Harrah’s Tahoe for failing to pay back $822,500 in casino markers. He posted $135,000 cash bail, and either he or his attorney will answer the charges on Monday at the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas.

Unpaid casino markers in Nevada are treated like bad checks. Each unpaid casino marker exceeding $250 is a felony carrying one to four years of prison time, a $5000 fine, and full restitution.

According to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Walker allegedly failed to pay back several markers taken from Caesar’s Palace, Planet Hollywood and the Red Rock Resort.

Last year NBA star Charles Barkley made headlines when he racked up a $400,000 debt in casino markers in Las Vegas. The Clark County D.A. threatened criminal prosecution after issuing an additional $40,000 fine in "bad check" fees. Being a wealthy man, Mr. Barkley avoided court by repaying all his debt to the Wynn Casino and the D.A. . . . but what would have happened if he didn't have the money?

Casinos make gambling more convenient for customers by extending them credit lines, called markers. "If customers don't repay what they borrowed within the designated timeframe," warns Las Vegas criminal defense attorney Michael Becker, "casinos report the debt to the D.A., who may prosecute under NRS 130." An unpaid casino marker of $250 or more is a felony in Nevada, carrying up to four years imprisonment and hefty fines including full restitution of the markers.

In order for suspects to be convicted for unpaid casino markers in Nevada, however, the D.A. must be able to prove "intent to defraud." Intent to defraud is usually presumed if the suspect had insufficient funds in his bank account at the time the markers were given. However, the case might be dismissed if the suspect can show a long history of paying back markers, if the suspect got ill, if he had other assets that exceeded the amount of the markers, or if the casinos clouded the suspect's judgment by providing him with alcohol.

Even if Mr. Barkley's case had gone to criminal court and he won, he still would have remained civilly liable to the Wynn. In civil situations, however, casinos are more amenable to settling.