Croatian High Roller Sues Mayfair Casino

A Croatian Businessman is Suing a Mayfair Casino after spending £27million during 5 days of playing Roulette at the Park Lane Club and Accumulating Winnings of £1.5 million.

Juste Puharic, a high rolling businessman, had spent 5 days at the roulette wheel and claims the Casino bosses at the exclusive gambling club had offered him a guarantee if he played there, but after he won, he alleges that they then refused to pay him the promised “cash back” of almost £250,000.
In the period between 26th and 30th May 2015, Mr. Puharic went on an incredible winning streak at the roulette table, where he stacked up bets totalling a staggering £27million, and ending up with winnings of £1.5million.

Silverbond Enterprises Ltd, who own the Casino, claim that they do not own Mr. Puharic anything and that even though he is such a gambler, they don’t care if he ever goes into their premises again to play the tables.
Christopher Bamford, who is Mr. Puharic’s spokesperson, told London’s High Court that Mr. Puharic had been a regular in the Mayfair casinos from as far back as 2002, but that he was clearly identified by the Park Lane Club as a wealthy man who liked to gamble big, and was thus given all sorts of incentives by the club’s employees to take his custom to their casino, including an offer that they would either match or beat any offer made to him by any of the other competing Mayfair casinos.

Mr. Puharic says he is ‘contractually entitled’ to £243,518, representing 0.9% commission on his gambling stakes of £27,057,621, that the club owners had offered him to match a “cash-back” deal that he was he being given at other Mayfair casinos, whether he was to win or lose, but Guy Olliff-Cooper, on behalf of the club’s owners, stated no such deal was ever offered, nor had they enticed him to play at their casino in any way, and that Mr. Puharic had gone of his own accord.
The barrister continued that it might have been possible that at some point somebody at the club had mentioned considering offering Mr. Puharic competitive terms to match other casinos, but that no “formal offer” was ever made.

Addressing Judge Gavin Mansfield QC, Mr. Bamford did state that “The only incentive offered to roulette players at the Park Lane Club was discretionary free hospitality and commission, which could be used as a discount on losses”, but something that was never taken up by anybody who came out on top, while asking for the judge to dismiss the case against his clients.

Mr. Puharic was in the headlines in 2019 when he became involved in a dispute about a collection of classic cars valued at £5million after he claimed that the cars were his property, whilst actually belonging to a Mayfair hotel.
The case is still ongoing as they wait for the judge to make his final decision.

_______________________________________________________________________