Meet the man who blew $127 million at the casino

[charlie]

He's not an oil sheikh or an international financier, just a guy from Omaha who made his fortune selling plastic dollar-store baubles:

LAS VEGAS -- During a year-long gambling binge at the Caesars Palace and Rio casinos in 2007, Terrance Watanabe managed to lose nearly $127 million.

The run is believed to be one of the biggest losing streaks by an individual in Las Vegas history. It devoured much of Mr. Watanabe's personal fortune, he says, which he built up over more than two decades running his family's party-favor import business in Omaha, Neb. It also benefitted the two casinos' parent company, Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which derived about 5.6% of its Las Vegas gambling revenue from Mr. Watanabe that year.

Today, Mr. Watanabe and Harrah's are fighting over another issue: whether the casino company bears some of the responsibility for his losses.
...

A native of Omaha, Neb., Mr. Watanabe built his fortune on plastic trinkets, the kind given away at carnivals and church fund-raisers: batons filled with tinsel, magic wands that light up, plastic spider rings that cost $1 for a bag of more than 100.

His father, Harry Watanabe, founded the import business, Oriental Trading Co., in 1932, after immigrating to the U.S. from Japan. As children, Mr. Watanabe and his younger sister and brother worked with their father after school. His mother, Fern, a Nebraska native, was a secretary there...



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125996714714577317.html#printMode

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Feh! Donald Trump lost more than that OWNING the casino.

[jobycom]

2. "Some I spent on booze and women and drugs, some I lost gambling,

but the rest of my fortune I just threw away." :rofl:

Can't remember the exact quote or who said it.

[TommyO]

10. I know it's part of Tracy Lawrence's "I Threw the Rest Away"

Here's the chorus:

CHORUS:

He said some was spent on gambling,

a lot was spent women, a little on some good Cabernet,

Three or four divorces, at least as many horses,

that never left the startin' gates,

Diamond rings and furs, swamp land in New Jersey,

That week I spent a year in L.A.,I hate to admit,

I threw the rest away.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Another possible source is the footballer George Best

(or at least he may have been someone who popularised it). The Tracy Lawrence song was written in 1993 by Nelson and Nelson as far as I can tell, but I can't put a date to these 2 Best quotes, though the first is probably from the 70s (I don't think he'd have managed Miss World in the 80s):

The ultimate laddish tale tells of the night when a waiter delivering champagne to Best's hotel room saw thousands of pounds of casino winnings and the current Miss World both arranged tastefully on the bed.

The scene prompted the legendary question: "Mr Best, where did it all go wrong?"
...
"I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted," he was often quoted as saying.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4312792.stm

[TommyO]

12. I'm sure that the song was based on earlier quotes

It's just that I remember that song quite well as I was heavily into country music at the time (before it got all assholy on the Dixie Chicks).

[jobycom]

22. Yeah, that's the one. Lawrence's song was based on that. Country music

song writers like to take lines from other sources and write mediocre to horrible songs about them. I don't remember the Lawrence song.

[paranoid floyd]

18. Tug McGraw Quote

Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste.
—When asked what he would do with the salary he was making as a pitcher.

He was the father of Tim McGraw.

[DCKit]

3. You gotta make a shitload of money to support that second generation.

Even most of our robber barons just gave it away in disgust over who they imagined their own monsters might grow up to become.

[Raine]

4. WOW I get a catalogue from them

every couple of months of so ... what a FOOL! :yoiks:

[ima_sinnic]

5. I was getting their catalogs too, for quite a while

no need to feel foolish

but I always felt foolish thinking of the workers in Chinese factories wondering what kind of idiots would actually buy that crap.

[TornadoTN]

14. He doesn't own it anymore - but guess who does - THE CARLYLE GROUP

The irony just writes itself here.

[trof]

17. Us too, and we buy from them.

Miz t. does, anyway.
For various woman's club functions.
Plastic tablecloths, table decorations, etc.

[pokercat999]

6. Ok so you were lured in by the bright lights. Once there you

quickly learned to love the lavish attention, the suites, the personal maid and butler, the free drinks, gourmet meals, and great looking hookers, all free. All you had to do was keep gambling, winning or losing was no problem, either way you still kept getting the goodies, all FREE. Just keep those cards turning, the dice rolling, the wheel spinning and it was all yours.....until you ran out of money.....fool.

And now you complain?

[HillbillyBob]

7. Idiot. I have to count pennies some days to eat.

My idea of gamblin is getting out of bed and taking bets on which way my meds will make me sick or if I will get D from them, and the occasional 2 or 3 month intervals that I buy a lotto ticket or two.

[Union Yes]

8. But remember fellow peons, taxing the rich is un'Murikan. nt

[Brickbat]

19. Not only that, but they can't afford it!

It would wreck their businesses AND their personal lives!

[Canuckistanian]

9. What a testament to USELESSNESS

A man who made his fortune selling USELESS plastic crap which has contributed only to landfill sites loses that fortune to a USELESS industry like Las Vegas casinos.

It was a direct transfer of money between ultimately USELESS millionaires.

[mitchum]

21. Very well said

[callous taoboy]

24. + 1, though I guess he did help the wages of casino workers. n/t

[_cash_thatswhatiwant]

13. fail

[Blue_Tires]

15. wow...he may as well have set fire to a mountain of cash

the effect is the same...I at least hope he had fun, for his sake...

Ironically, somewhere back in Asia there are probably a couple thousand unseen factory workers getting paid pennies an hour to keep his former empire afloat...

And another question: WHERE in fuck's name were his friends, associates, accountants, family, etc to tell him to SLOW DOWN??

[progressoid]

16. And his company (OTC) is a shitty employer.

I know a couple people that worked for OTC. They absolutely hated it.

[Froward69]

20. Gambiling Rule #1

do not gamble with money you are not prepared to loose.

[TommyO]

23. Ain't that the truth!

Whenever I go to Atlantic City, I know exactly how much money I'm willing to lose there and keep it in one pocket. Winnings, if any, are placed in another pocket. Of course, I'm talking 100 dollars, not $127 million!

[Initech]

25. If I had that much money I'd avoid Vegas like the plague.

:yoiks:

[Froward69]

26. Vegas maybe

Nevada HELL NO...

so many brothels to choose from... Love the working girl... gosh with that much cash "ill take two at a time"...

then again if I had that much cash, I would be duped into marriage no doubt. (based upon LOVE of course. not my gut, hair loss, yellow teeth, smoking, chronic bad breath, propensity to not shower to save water. But "she really LOVES me, not the money" type of marriage.
:sarcasm:
even If I did choose to gamble and had 127mil. I would keep it to a 1 million loss.