Gone in 90 mins: Jho Low blew US$1.75m on baccarat - casino exec
This was revealed by Kirk Godby, an executive at The Venetian Resort, during his testimony before a US court in ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng's trial.
Godby described baccarat as...
Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, wagered almost US$87 million at a single Las Vegas casino and lost US$26 million.
This was revealed by Kirk Godby, an executive at The Venetian Resort, during his testimony before a US court in ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng's trial.
Godby described baccarat as Low's game of choice and that the latter was considered a "premium" guest.
According to Bloomberg, Godby testified that Ng gambled with Low in late November 2010. That was the accused's sole visit to the Venetian.
This was during what the US Department of Justice described as the "Good Star Phase" between 2009 and 2011, in which US$1 billion was allegedly fraudulently diverted from 1MDB.
The money ended up in Good Star Limited's Swiss bank account. The company was incorporated in Seychelles and owned by Low.
Godby testified that Ng lost US$22,500 on the baccarat table and Low played on the same table, placing US$4 million in total bets.
In a single 90-minute session, Low was said to have lost US$1.75 million.
In 2012 and 2013, Ng and his then-boss Tim Leissner would play a pivotal role in Goldman’s decision to help arrange for three bonds raised by 1MDB, totalling US$6.5 billion with Malaysian government guarantees.
Goldman and Leissner have both paid hefty fines for their roles in the scheme, which will eventually cost Malaysian taxpayers dearly in debt repayments.
Ng - a Malaysian national - is the sole Goldman employee to face trial in the US. He argued that he was innocent and that Leissner was to blame for the affair.
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