In one of the most bizarre cases the gambling world has seen, gambling addict Tarwinder Shokar is suing the Caesars Windsor casino for allowing him to lose $342,000 at the tables.
That money, it transpired, was an insurance payout for throwing himself in front of a truck after a losing session at a different casino…
Canadian player sues the Caesars Windsor casino after losing session for $342,000
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Tarwinder Shokar is suing the Caesars Windsor and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation for the money lost. Moreover, he is also seeking $500,000 in punitive damages.
The case has languished in the court system for more than six years but is now being heard by the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor. The judge will have to decide who is ultimately responsible for the hefty losses.
Shokar and his legal team claim that “he was a compulsive gambler and the Caesars Windsor and/or the OLG were either well aware of his past background — or should have been.”
The defence claim that Shokar is responsible for his own actions. They stated: “Each time he made a wager, he chose the amount of money he wanted to wager in full knowledge of the risks associated with that wager.”
They added: “Any losses Mr. Shokar may have suffered are not recoverable in law…as an admitted problem gambler, Mr. Shokar was also negligent in coming to Caesars Windsor in the first place.”
Shokar’s suicide attempt came after a disastrous losing session at Casino Brantford. The compulsive gambler suffered serious injuries after jumping in front of a truck.
The amount of his insurance payout for that incident is unknown. However, the blow-by-blow account of how Shokar lost it all makes for uncomfortable reading.
Having received bans from several casinos for previous bad behavior, Shokar– who has a criminal conviction for fraud – was directed to the Caesars Windsor by a travel agency specializing in casino tours.
When he turned up on October 17th, 2013 with a $55,000 bank draft the Caesars Windsor afforded him an executive host, reportedly “responsible for the management and development of elite VIP guests.”
The host took Shokar to Nero’s Steak House in between two $25,000 losing sessions of roulette. One of those consisting of three withdrawals in just 16 minutes.
Despite having a room at the Caesars Windsor hotel, Shokar left for home and returned the following morning – the taxi fares totaling $800 for by the Caesars Windsor.
That next day he lost even more money at a “specially opened table”. The total for the two visits comes to $92,000.
Six days later he was back again, a $100k bank draft lasting him until that afternoon. Shokar then presented a further two bank drafts worth $75,000 each, again blowing through his bankroll.
That set his total losses at $342,000, with Shokar’s lawyer Iain MacKinnon claiming: “They did everything they could for him to gamble as much as possible.”
Shokar’s case will likely go to trial this year.
The poker world has witnessed a few instances of players suing casinos. The high-profile Phil Ivey edge-sorting case seeing the US pro sue Crockfords of London. Ivey lost that case.
There was also the lawsuit tit-for-tat between Aussie Matt Kirk and Kings Casino boss Leon Tsoukernik. In that one, Loose Leon countersued Kirk following a highstakes cash game at the Aria.
Kirk claimed Tsoukernik owed him $2million. However, the Czech casino mogul countered by claiming the Aria plied him with alcohol to the extent that the game was: “unfair, dishonest, and non-competitive.”The entire case was eventually dismissed by a Vegas court.
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