Terry Watanabe, the player who lost the most in Las Vegas casinos

Image: Las Vegas Sun

Many players manage to win big in Las Vegas. The frequent progressive jackpots won won’t prove otherwise.

On the other hand, it’s worth recognizing that other people also lose significant amounts of money. Many movies deal with casinos, especially blackjack movies , such as Rain Man, The Gambler, or Las Vegas 21, to name a few.

This is what happened to a certain Terry Watanabe who lost big in the casinos of Las Vegas.

During 2007, this wealthy businessman from Omaha, Nebraska, lost more than $200 million, mainly at Caesars Palace and the Rio, making him one of the biggest losers in Las Vegas.

This feat, which he would have preferred to have done without, will soon be immortalized in a film.

A project supported by Foundation Media Partners

Production company Foundation Media Partners appears to be particularly interested in the tragic story of Terry Watanabe, who went from riches to poverty thanks to his unsuccessful gambling sessions in Las Vegas. Having secured exclusive rights to his story, the company hopes to develop a documentary and/or a book, but also, and more importantly, a feature-length fiction film about this legendary high roller.

Patrick Hughes, founder and CEO of Foundation Media Partners, has been obsessed with Terry Watanabe’s exploits for several years now. He now seeks a filmmaker capable of capturing the claustrophobic and surreal world in which he has trapped himself. His fortune and heart of gold have driven him into a spiral of self-destruction as tragic as it is fascinating.

A businessman who was bored after selling his company

Terry Watanabe became wealthy by transforming his father’s small business, Oriental Trading Co., into a $300 million-a-year corporation. In 2000, he decided to retire by selling his entire stake to Brentwood Associates. By then, he was worth millions of dollars, allowing him to focus on philanthropy, such as making significant donations to AIDS research.

But now that he was no longer working, Terry Watanabe began to get bored. To distract himself, he occasionally went to Harrah’s Council Bluffs in Iowa. Then he got the idea to go to Las Vegas. It was there that he gradually developed an addiction. He notably gambled at the Wynn before being banned from the premises due to his addiction and alcoholism.

He then turned to Caesars Palace and the Rio, which were more accommodating. Caesars Entertainment, the operator responsible for his two properties, even created a special Chairman rank for him in its loyalty program, which previously limited itself to Seven Star.

At the height of his losses, Terry Watanabe could gamble for 24 hours straight, raking in as much as $5 million per session. He would sometimes bet $50,000 each on three hands of blackjack at the same time. He reportedly alone contributed approximately 5.6% of Caesars Entertainment Group’s gross gaming revenue in 2007.