German high roller sues Wynn over unpaid gambling debts

German high roller sues Wynn over unpaid gambling debts
By Steve Green

A high roller from Germany sued Wynn Las Vegas on Wednesday in hopes of blocking criminal charges over his unpaid gambling debts.

Konstantin Zoggolis charged in the lawsuit that he had been a Wynn patron for about five years and that he and Wynn Las Vegas agreed to limit his credit line to $250,000 in November 2008.

"Plaintiff exercised his right to self limit his access to the issuance of credit pursuant to" a Nevada Gaming Commission regulation, the lawsuit says.

Despite this alleged limit, Wynn is trying to recover from Zoggolis $1.3 million evidenced by 11 gambling markers issued to him during September and October 2010, the lawsuit says.

These markers are check-like negotiable instruments.

The suit says that because the markers have not been paid, Wynn Las Vegas has asked the Clark County District Attorney’s office to prosecute Zoggolis on bad check charges.

"If criminal proceedings are commenced against plaintiff at the direction of defendant in an effort to collect invalid debts, plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm before a decision on the merits can be rendered," said the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Las Vegas and seeks an injunction blocking Wynn from initiating criminal proceedings against Zoggolis.

"Plaintiff has an absolute right to reduce defendant’s demand by $1.05 million because defendant has not complied with its cross-obligation under the credit agreement to limit plaintiff’s credit line to $250,000," the lawsuit says.

"By failing to limit plaintiff’s credit line to $250,000, defendant was in material breach of the credit agreement such that plaintiff’s duty to repay any markers in excess of $250,000 was discharged under common law contract principles. Defendant made this promise for the purpose of ensuring responsible gaming," the lawsuit says.

Wynn Las Vegas had no comment on the lawsuit, a spokeswoman said.

Collecting casino debts through civil lawsuits, criminal charges and less-drastic measures is nothing new for Wynn and other Las Vegas casinos. Most recently, Wynn was in the news over a protracted struggle over debts allegedly owed by Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild fame.