In 2007, Terry Watanabe, a rich businessman from Omaha, Neb., misplaced greater than $200 million playing, primarily at Caesars Palace and the Rio. It’s a doubtful feat that immortalized him as one among Las Vegas’ largest losers. Now there are plans to make a movie about Watanabe and his wretched shedding streak.
Terry Watanabe, pictured throughout a 2008 court docket look. A yr earlier, he had been answerable for round 5.6% of Caesars Leisure’s annual playing income. (Picture: Las Vegas Solar)
Basis Media Companions has secured unique rights to Watanabe’s riches-to-rags life story, Deadline studies. The corporate needs to make a characteristic movie in regards to the legendary whale, in addition to a documentary and/or ebook. Watanabe has not spoken publicly about his experiences in Las Vegas since he settled a lawsuit with Caesars Leisure, then often known as Harrah’s, in 2010.
The on line casino operator was chasing a $14.7 million line of credit score that Watanabe had gambled with and misplaced. Watanabe’s protection was that the on line casino had exploited him and allowed him to gamble whereas drunk.
Basis Media Companions’ founder and CEO, Patrick Hughes, advised Deadline that he’s been obsessive about studying extra about Watanabe and his story over time.
“I’ve at all times imagined telling his story with a filmmaker that might actually seize the type of claustrophobic, surreal world he was trapped in,” Hughes added. “All the cash on the earth and a coronary heart of gold, after which he obtained caught on a loopy hamster wheel of opulence and self-destruction that’s as tragic as it’s fascinating.”
Who Was Terry Watanabe?
Watanabe made his fortune build up his father’s modest commerce enterprise, Oriental Buying and selling Co., into an organization with revenues of $300 million a yr. He exited in 2000, promoting his whole stake within the enterprise to non-public fairness agency Brentwood Associates. Now very rich, he determined to commit the remainder of his life to philanthropy. Notably, he donated tens of millions to AIDs analysis.
However with out the enterprise that had consumed his life up till that time, Watanabe quickly turned bored. He began playing at Harrah’s Council Bluffs in Iowa, lastly making his method to Las Vegas as a profound habit set in.
Watanabe moved into the Wynn Las Vegas. However his prodigious playing caught the attention of then-CEO Steve Wynn, who banned him for being a “playing addict and alcoholic.” That’s in line with a letter written by Wynn’s lawyer to the Nevada Gaming Management Board.
The 2 Caesars casinos have been extra accommodating. Actually, they bent over backward to have Watanabe at their gaming tables, showering him with Rolling Stones tickets and $500,000 credit score on the reward shops.
Caesars even created a particular rank on its loyalty program just for him, “Chairman.” Beforehand, the very best VIP rank had been “Seven Star.”
$5M Classes
In 2007, the yr of his jaw-dropping shedding streak, Watanabe was bingeing on the tables for as much as 24 hours, generally shedding as a lot as $5 million in a single session. Generally he performed three arms of blackjack concurrently, with a $50,000 restrict for every hand, in line with court docket paperwork.
Watanabe claimed in court docket that Caesars plied him with booze and prescription capsules to maintain him playing, one thing the operator denied. The corporate generated round 5.6% of its playing income from Watanabe that yr.
In 2017, Watanabe, now broke, began a GoFundMe marketing campaign to assist him elevate $100,000 for a life-saving prostate most cancers operation.
“I’ve accepted my state of affairs, and I don’t pity myself,” he wrote. “However my hope is that you can see it in your coronary heart to forgive me for my previous and assist me dwell lengthy sufficient to assist others sooner or later.”
