CARSON CITY — The Nevada Court of Appeals has ruled in a split decision that the Wynn Las Vegas can go after an unpaid $800,000 gambling marker from an Italian lawyer who lost to the casino in September 2011.
Cristiano Augusto Tofani has argued he was drunk and suffered from a gambling addiction when he lost the money.
Efforts to collect on a marker were unsuccessful, and Wynn filed suit.
A jury awarded the Las Vegas casino $450,000 for breach of contract and $455,607 for costs, attorney fees and interest.
Both Wynn and Tofani appealed. Wynn wanted repayment of the entire marker.
Judge Jerome Tao said the marker constituted a valid contract. “There is simply no scenario in which Tofani just gets to keep the money he borrowed and convert it to his own use without paying back a single dollar,” Tao wrote.
Tao also rejected an argument that Tofani paid back the money by losing it all at the casino. “Gambling isn’t paying money back; gambling is spending the money,” he said.