Crown chases high roller for $8m

Melbourne's Crown Casino is chasing a high roller for about $8 million after he allegedly lost a fortune during a gambling spree.

Lawyers for the casino have launched a court action against Chinese man Zhao Li to recover the $6,895,632 it loaned him plus about $1 million in interest, the Herald Sun reports.

Mr Li, who is a resident in China but also has an address listed in North Balwyn, Melbourne, lost the money over a 13-day binge in October and November, 2011.

Crown's statement of claim says it approved a generous credit line to the VIP punter.

It has not been disclosed what game Mr Li played but it appears the house won.

Despite repeated requests, Mr Li has refused or neglected to pay back his alleged debt.

The Herald reported that nobody was answering the door at his North Balwyn address, a five-bedroom mansion which was sold in February last year and appears to be in a state of neglect, with knee-high weeds and sodden letters scattered on the ground near the letterbox.

The newspaper's attempts to reach Mr Li at his Chinese address also failed.

Source: Herald Sun
Author:Erin Tennant, Approving editor: Simon Black