Caesars Windsor faces suit for allowing gambler to lose
Admitted gambling addict wants his $342,000 back, plus additional $500,000
Distraught at having gambled away his money, Tarwinder Shokar stepped out of Casino Brantford and threw himself in front of a truck, wanting to end it all.
The suicide attempt failed but he was left with serious injuries, for which he subsequently received a sizable insurance payout.
Almost immediately upon receipt of those funds, however, Shokar set out to try his luck again at the roulette wheel, his favoured game of chance.
Banned from several gambling establishments for past behaviour, he went to a travel agency specializing in casino tours and was directed to Caesars Windsor. In two short visits in late October 2013, lady luck still refused to shine on Shokar, and he lost it all again, this time to the tune of $342,000. Now he wants that money back. Shokar is suing Caesars Windsor and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation — which manages and oversees the province’s casino and lottery operations — for his Windsor gambling losses, and he’s seeking $500,000 on top of that in punitive damages.
“Our position is he was a compulsive gambler and the casino and/or the OLG were either well aware of his past background — or should have been,” said Iain Mackinnon, a lawyer with Toronto’s Linden & Associates, which is representing Shokar.
Although the alleged events all took place in October 2013 and the civil lawsuit was filed a short time later, it was only this fall that the case was transferred from the courts in Brampton to the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor. Mackinnon said he doesn’t expect a trial until the end of 2020 at the earliest.
According to the civil lawsuit, Shokar is an alcoholic and compulsive gambler, which the plaintiff argues should have been known to the Windsor casino operators given that he was already banned from a number of other Ontario casinos for disruptive behaviour, including being drunk and disorderly. He also had a criminal record after being convicted for fraud.
On his first visit to the local casino on Oct. 17, 2013, he arrived in the afternoon with a $55,000 bank draft and was given the red carpet treatment, complete with escort by a Caesars Windsor executive host described by the casino as “responsible for the management and development of elite VIP guests.”
With an initial purchase of $25,000 in chips, Shokar played roulette for about an hour before indicating he was hungry and the VIP host took him to Nero’s Steak House. The pair then returned to the gaming floor, with Shokar withdrawing another $25,000 from his account in three instalments over a 16-minute period.
Even though he had checked into the casino hotel, Shokar then took a taxi home to his Toronto area home but returned by cab the following morning. Over the course of the previous night and the morning that followed he lost about $92,000, according to statements filed in court and acknowledged by the defence lawyers for the casino.
A few days later, the casino tour agent advised Caesars Windsor’s VIP host that Shokar was returning on Oct. 23 with a bank draft for $100,000. After helping him settle into his hotel room, the guest was accompanied to the game floor where he purchased $50,000 in chips, withdrawing a further $50,000 from his account only an hour later.
Before the afternoon was over, Shokar was back at the cashier’s cage, presenting another two $75,000 bank drafts to add to his casino account. Over the course of that day he lost about $250,000.
Mackinnon said Caesars Windsor had paid for the approximately $800 in taxi rides to Shokar’s home and back on the initial visit and there was a “specially opened table” waiting for him on his early morning return.
“They did everything they could for him to gamble as much as possible,” said Mackinnon.
The facts laid out in the statement of claim, those contained in the statement of defence in response and other filings before the court must still be argued and ruled on by a judge.
The defendants argue Shokar has only himself to blame for gambling his money and losing.
“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,” lawyers with Toronto’s Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP said in their statement of defence that asks the court to dismiss the legal action.
“Any losses Mr. Shokar may have suffered are not recoverable in law,” reads the statement of defence, adding, “as an admitted problem gambler, Mr. Shokar was also negligent in coming to Caesars Windsor in the first place.”
The plaintiff alleges negligence and wrongdoing on the part of the casino by over-serving Shokar with alcohol and then inducing and encouraging the subsequent gambling and large losses by someone the defence deems was “mentally incompetent.” Caesars Windsor was thus “unjustly enriched.” The defendants deny the plaintiff ’s allegations.
In approving the application of the defendants to transfer the case from Brampton to Windsor, regional senior Justice Bruce Thomas also cited the importance of Caesars Windsor to its host city.
“There is a local community interest in this action,” Thomas wrote.
He said the casino is one of the area’s major job providers, employing 2,700 people and, since its opening, has paid $3.5 billion to employees and local suppliers and has contributed $15 million in community projects. He added
Our position is he was a compulsive gambler and the casino and/or the OLG were either well aware of his past background — or should have been.
its employees have volunteered 100,000 hours to the community.
Shokar is banned from all Ontario casinos, said Mackinnon.