US basketball star repays casino gambling loans
21st May, 2008
A former NBA star who was sued by a casino in Las Vegas for failing to repay thousands of dollars in gambling loans has settled his debt.
Charles Barkley, now a basketball analyst for US television channel TNT, owed Wynn Las Vegas US$400,000 for four US$100,000 casino markers which he received in October last year.
Wynn filed a civil complaint against the 45-year-old on May 14th at the state court in Nevada and he has now re-paid the loans in full.
In a statement issued on his behalf by TNT, Barkley said: "True to my word, I sent a $400,000 cashier's cheque overnight to Wynn Las Vegas, which they confirmed they received."
However, he also owes them money for the district attorney's processing fees, which he claims he initially knew nothing about but which he is also going to pay.
Barkley added: "I was unaware of the additional ten per cent processing fee from the district attorney's office and will make restitution on that promptly."
Speaking before a televised game on Monday (May 19th), the former sportsman explained that while he plans to take a short break from casino gambling, he will return to it in the future.
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