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 Gambling addict wife of Omani politician blew £2MILLION in one night - and sues casino
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Nora Al-Daher frittered away a fortune as she played punto banco, a card game similar to baccarat, at the famous London Ritz Hotel’s exclusive club
Daily Mirror
Double downer: Nora Al-Daher outside court
A millionaire gambling addict is suing The Ritz – after she blew £2million at its casino in one night.
Nora Al-Daher stacked up the eye-watering loss in just a few hours at the famous London hotel’s exclusive club.
The 50-year-old wife of a wealthy Omani politician frittered away a fortune as she played punto banco, a card game similar to baccarat.
But Mrs Al-Daher insisted that it was the club’s fault that she lost the money, not her own, and that staff should have stopped her from playing.
She claimed that workers were aware of her gambling problem yet stood behind her at the table and encouraged her to keep playing, extending her cheque cashing facility as her losses built up.
She told the High Court: “I needed someone that night to tell me to stop playing and bring me to my senses.
"If I had been told to stop, of course I would have done so immediately.
“But no one ever told me to stop or to think about my gambling.”
The court also heard how Mrs Al-Daher, who lives in Muscat, Oman, had already suffered “significant” losses at other casinos that night before she arrived at The Ritz.
PA Ritz Hotel on Piccadilly
Gambling: The Ritz Hotel on Piccadilly
She said she did not want to play, but only a matter of hours later her £1.7million cheque cashing limit had been reached and extended and she was £2million down.
Her barrister, Robert Deacon, said: “Staff positively encouraged her when she was losing, saying, ‘Anything for you, Princess Nora. We trust you. No problem. Don’t worry... the next time you will get your money back’.”
The judge heard that Mrs Al-Daher first realised she was a gambling addict in 1999 and that between that year and April 2012, The Ritz alone had received more than £20million in buy-ins from her, of which she lost more than £7million.
Mrs Al-Daher, wife of super-rich Omani Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al-Busaidi, added: “They should have discouraged me but instead they took advantage of me.”
The case reached the High Court after The Ritz sued Mrs Al-Daher for £1million, alleging some of the cheques she handed over that night were not honoured, which they only discovered months later.
The casino denied Mrs Al-Daher’s accusations and insisted she was not put under any pressure to place bets.
They added it was not unusual for a gambler to have their cheque cashing facility extended.
Ritz boss, Roger Maris, told the court: “She was a very good customer and there had been a very good history of paying.
"There was no thought in our mind that the cheques were not going to get paid.”
The case continues.
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Elfatih Abuelhia
الأمين عبد الرحمن عيسى
Muhib
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست