Casino Culpability?

If a casino amasses more debt than it can reasonably expect to repay, frequently based on inflated revenue projections or poor business decisions, the casino can file bankruptcy, as many have and discharge their debts.

In the case of Foxwoods, and other Tribal Casinos, they simply stop paying because, after all, they're Sovereign.

Casino Tribes Default

Tribe Renegs on $50 Million Bond

And what of Steve Norton, whose company has filed bankruptcy in other states, but is salivating to enter the Massachusetts market?

It's with some sense of irony that Trump is insisting this Gambling Addict's debt should be nondishargeable after Trump has discharged debt how many times in bankruptcy court?

And what of the culpability of a casino accepting paper from someone who lacks the ability to easily repay the loan?

Morris admits gambling problem
Businessman claims addiction led to casino debt

Altoona businessman Gregory Morris admits he had a gambling problem when he amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to several Atlantic City casinos, court documents state.

Morris made the admission in a recent filing in his Chapter 11 bankruptcy case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Western Pennsylvania. The Altoona businessman is attempting to keep his many enterprises afloat by working out a reorganization plan.

Morris said he suffers from a gambling addiction, "which constitutes a medical condition in which [he] suffers from an irresistible impulse to gamble," court documents state. Because of the condition, he was "medically and psychologically incapable of controlling his conduct and thus unable to form the requisite intention to defraud or deceive a casino."

The casinos want U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey A. Deller to declare the gambling debts "nondischargeable." If approved by the judge, Morris would be required to repay the entire amount of money owed to the casinos rather than possibly paying only a portion as other debtors might be required to accept in the bankruptcy settlement.

Morris is not saying he doesn't owe the money to the casinos, his attorney, John P. Lacher of Pittsburgh, said Tuesday.

"[But] they shouldn't get any special relief," Lacher said.

Morris charges that the casinos, knowing of his addiction, "permitted, encouraged, aided, abetted, facilitated and enabled [Morris] to indulge in his addiction, all without regard to the potential adverse consequences not only to [his] business enterprises but to his family as well."

Morris owes more than $800,000 to casinos such as Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina, Trump Plaza, and Marina District Development as the Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa, the casinos claim.

The casinos exploit people they consider "high rollers," or people known to wager and lose large sums of money, by providing them "luxurious suites, sumptuous foods, abundant alcoholic beverages and attractive women," according to Morris' bankruptcy filing.

Morris maintained those gambling debts, which he at first called loans, have nothing to do with the real reason for his bankruptcy filings.

His business partners, including the estate of the late Joseph Ventura and Dr. Carroll Osgood and Osgood's wife, Diane, contended Morris wasn't communicating with them. They asked Blair County President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva to appoint a receiver.

When she named a receiver, Morris essentially transferred court proceedings to the bankruptcy court.

Morris has been emphatic that his business problems with his partners have nothing to do with his personal debts stemming from his gambling.

Morris continues to work out a plan to get new financing into his businesses and to obtain new partners, discussions which are ongoing, Lacher said.