Casino wouldn't cash chips, Melnyk claims in legal row over gambling debt
Connecticut casino suing Ottawa Senators owner for $900K plus damages
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is accusing a Connecticut casino of refusing to cash his chips when he was on a winning streak, landing him with a $900,000 gambling loss that's now the subject of a lawsuit against him.
The accusation comes in Melnyk's statement of defence filed in response to a claim by the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.
In July, the casino alleged Melnyk tried to pay his $900,000 debt with five bank drafts over a winter weekend in 2017, but the drafts were "dishonoured" by a bank.
The casino is suing Melnyk for the amount plus $15,000 in damages, costs and interest.
According to his statement of defence, the casino "failed and refused defendant's instruction to cash out defendant's chips during a gambling session at a time when defendant was winning significant amounts of money, but induced defendant to continue to gamble, during which time plaintiff's conduct caused defendant to incur substantial losses."
Melnyk also claims the casino waited over five months to cash the bank drafts, a delay that was "unreasonable and prejudicial to the defendant and caused the drafts to become stale."
None of the allegations has been proven in court.