(Photo: Javon Swaby/Pexels)

A higher roller racked up a huge debt at a Mayfair casino. The gambler told the court he shouldn’t have to pay because the casino got him extremely drunk. 

Lester Hui allegedly owes the Crown London Aspinalls casino £589,724 (about USD $720,000). According to Metro, he originally signed a check for the losses, but it was said to have bounced. Hui argued to the court that he shouldn’t have to pay the debt at all. 

The casino said it attempted to resolve this. However, it was forced to sue Hui for a breach of contract and “dishonoring a bill of exchange.”

As reported by Daily Mail, Hui said he told staff to cut him off if he lost more than £30,000. Apparently, he told the staff he planned on getting drunk. Although, instead of cutting him off, he claimed the casino employees kept giving him Moutai, a type of baijiu liquor from China. 

One of the more popular brands of this spirit is Kweichow Moutai which has an ABV of 53%. It is an alcohol made from distilled sorghum. Moutai alone comes with a hefty price tag on its own, retailing for hundreds of dollars per bottle. 

Hui’s lawyers said Aspinall’s breached its social responsibility obligations and “deliberately failing to intervene,” for the casino’s financial benefit.

The company Aspinall’s Club Ltd demanded Hui pay his debt and claimed he was sober enough to make decisions. The casino’s lawyers said he drove himself home and provided CCTV footage they argued proves Hui was not too drunk. 

Furthermore, Aspinall’s lawyers said Hui did not tell the staff to cut him off. 

The case is still ongoing and it appears hard to tell which way the courts will lean with this case. 

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