Australia Sydney - Casino hit by $11.5 million fraudster who bounced cheque at the ba
Casino hit by $11.5 million fraudster who bounced cheque at the baccarat table
GAMBLING giant Tabcorp has been stung by an overseas high-roller who bounced an $11.5 million cheque at the baccarat table.
Tabcorp admitted to the loss yesterday as it annnounced a profit for the past six months of $263.2 million, down 3.7 per cent on the same period last year.
The company revealed it also plans to raise $300 million in shares to fund renovation of its Star City casino in Sydney, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper refused to say which casino cashed the dud cheque.
He said there were only between 10 and 30 gamblers in the world who bet on that scale but refused to name the player or say which country he was from.
"You should assume that players of this nature are well known around the region," he said. "These people play very large amounts of money over time."
Mr Funke Kupper said Tabcorp was continuing to pursue the gambler for the money but refused to say whether it had launched legal action.
"Like any business you expect your money back," he said.
He said that, because the company had already written off the money, "there's only upside for us now".
Tabcorp did not provide credit to big money gamblers but did cash their cheques, he said.
"They tend to be baccarat players, in some cases playing between $100,000 and $300,000 a hand, so these are very significant players. And therefore it is not unusual to have substantial facilities in place for some of these people."
In addition to Star City, Tabcorp runs the Conrad casinos in Brisbane and the Gold Coast and Jupiters in Townsville.
