The Mohegan Sun casino resort in Connecticut is suing controversial former Hollywood movie mogul Ron Meyer (pictured) over $2.8 million outstanding debt.
In August 2015, the former president of Universal Studios negotiated a $6 million credit agreement with the tribe-operated casino. He then gambled and lost $5 million of it in one night.
Mohegan says Meyer, now 79, made them $60,000 monthly payments totaling $2.2 million. That’s until they stopped in 2023, with $2.8 million still owed.
Meyer’s attorneys look set to argue the case in court. They say the credit agreement violated the Mohegan’s gaming compact and Connecticut law, making it null and void.
Meyer’s Gambling
The Mohegan Sun is operated by the Mohegan Tribe. It is one of the larger tribal casinos in the U.S. and operator Mohegan Gaming’s flagship venue.
In 2015, Mohegan’s lawsuit says, Meyer gambled away $5 million in a single day.
He issued four checks covering the $5 million balance before leaving the casino, but they all bounced. After legal back and forth, Meyer agreed in 2018 to start repaying the debt at $60,000 a month over four years. The casino even agreed to let him out of $1.6 million of the debt should he repay promptly.
It claims he didn’t. By 2020, the lawsuit says, the payments ceased.
The Defence
Meyer’s lawyer, Brian E. Spears, countered the suit’s claims with the legal argument that under tribal and Connecticut law, the contracts were not allowed, and therefore null and void.
Under Connecticut law, businesses are not allowed to extend credit for the purposes of gambling. The Mohegan’s gaming operations are exempt from Connecticut law, but they must adhere to their gaming compact.
Spears argues that the Mohegan’s gaming compact with Connecticut doesn’t mention credit agreements, and therefore, the law defaults to state law, under which the lending agreement between Mohegan and Meyer is legally void.
Spears pointed out in his response that Connecticut tribe the Mashantucket Pequots specifically negotiated a clause on gambling credit agreements in their compact. Meaning, Mohegan should have one.
“Ultimately, the Mohegan Compact is the relevant authority,” Spears wrote.
“Within its four corners, the Mohegan Compact does not permit the extension of credit for gambling. Absent an express authorization permitting the Mohegan Sun to extend credit for gambling at its casino, Connecticut’s centuries-old prohibition on such practices controls.”
Meyer’s History
Meyer was a top Hollywood exec for 25 years and founded Creative Artists Agency, which managed many top film industry names. However, his prodigious gambling habits have been exposed in recent years.
He resigned from his $25 million per year role at NBCUniversal in 2020 after being blackmailed over an alleged 2012 affair with British actress Charlotte Kirk, who, at the time, was 20. Meyer was then 68.
Shortly after that, the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper spoke to sources who claimed Meyer had on many occasions gambled millions in a night at craps tables in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. It has also been alleged that, among other debts, he owed $1.7 million to Wynn Las Vegas.
A 2016 book about the history of Meyer’s Creative Artist Agency also alleged that in the 1990s, he was heavily in debt for several million to various mob crime families.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
