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Whittaker sued by casino over bad checks
Insider Buzz: Whittaker sued by casino over bad checks
Caesars casino is suing the winner of a $315 million lottery jackpot, claiming he bounced checks worth $1.5 million trying to cover gambling losses. Jack Whittaker, whose Powerball win in 2002 was at the time the largest undivided lottery jackpot, claims he doesn't owe the money. In a filing made in response to Caesars lawsuit, Whittaker said the casino actually owes him money because it agreed to give him a percentage of revenue from a slot machine he developed and to credit his gambling losses. The casino, owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., filed the lawsuit in 2005, a year after it said the bad checks were written. The case came to light recently when the documents were subpoenaed in an unrelated wrongful-death lawsuit against Whittaker. The lawsuit involves Jesse Joe Tribble, 18, who was found dead in a home owned by Whittaker in September 2004. The teen was an acquaintance of Whittaker's 17-year-old granddaughter, and the lawsuit claims she bought drugs with Whittaker's money and shared the drugs with her friends. Tribble's father blames Whittaker, who had custody of his granddaughter. Whittaker says Tribble bought the drugs and that his granddaughter, Brandi Bragg, wasn't home when Tribble died. The father's attorney, Tom Peyton, sought copies of surveillance tapes and other records related to Whittaker's gambling trips as part of the wrongful death lawsuit. Since his Powerball win, Whittaker has been beset by problems. He's been arrested for drunken driving, had hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from him, and Bragg died of a drug overdose, just months after Tribble's death.
AP
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38 comments. Last comment 3 years ago by .
Coastal Georgia United States Member #2703 October 30, 2003 1868 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 7:38 am - IP Logged |
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Why am I not surprised at this latest in the long line of Jack Whittaker stories ? The broken record just keeps on keepin on... DD
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MI United States Member #20554 August 14, 2005 50 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 7:48 am - IP Logged |
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Anyone that wins a large jackpot should be given a copy of all the articles about him so that they can learn what not to do.
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Charlotte, North Carolina United States Member #36533 March 28, 2006 50 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 8:46 am - IP Logged |
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The never ending cycle. I see a huge powerball win in my future! 
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Coastal Georgia United States Member #2703 October 30, 2003 1868 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 9:38 am - IP Logged |
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One more thing: This is the modern day corporate casino , so they sue.. Back in the day, Jack would not have to worry about a lawsuit- The only suit he would have to concern himself with would be the suit of plaster over all the broken bones he would have received. DD
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MD United States Member #1735 June 18, 2003 5527 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 9:48 am - IP Logged |
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Yea it's tragic that a self made millionaire and well respected member of his community would allow himself to get into all kinds of turmoil. He won enough money to take care of his family for generations to come. Instead he let it get to him and destroy himself and his family. I still think when he offered to help his church pastors and they refused his offers for financial help to build churches etc. that Jack flipped out. He felt as tough he was abandon by the pastors and community. For whatever reason he did an about face and started down the path of destruction. And it snowballed from that point on. He had every opportunity to change the way he was living but chose the direction he is living. He may never be able to live with himself after all the tragedy. Doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would ask for or seek help to get straightened out. At this point to him it may seem hopeless that any kind of recovery might make a difference since the damage is done.
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United States Member #12856 March 18, 2005 2060 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 11:55 am - IP Logged |
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I wonder if one day he will actually better himself or is he going to keep on doing these tired acts.
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Portland United States Member #7399 September 27, 2004 111 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 11:59 am - IP Logged |
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Hmmm, please don't tell he can not handle 1.5M check! It's really terrible!
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New Member  St. Louis United States Member #2383 September 18, 2003 15 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 1:02 pm - IP Logged |
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Yea it's tragic that a self made millionaire and well respected member of his community would allow himself to get into all kinds of turmoil. He won enough money to take care of his family for generations to come. Instead he let it get to him and destroy himself and his family. I still think when he offered to help his church pastors and they refused his offers for financial help to build churches etc. that Jack flipped out. He felt as tough he was abandon by the pastors and community. For whatever reason he did an about face and started down the path of destruction. And it snowballed from that point on. He had every opportunity to change the way he was living but chose the direction he is living. He may never be able to live with himself after all the tragedy. Doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would ask for or seek help to get straightened out. At this point to him it may seem hopeless that any kind of recovery might make a difference since the damage is done. From what I've read, he already had the gambling problem and was already going to strip clubs long before he won the lottery. His granddaughter was already using drugs.
He also had a website where anyone could request anywhere from $3 grand to $3 million dollars from him. I'm not saying he's a good guy for giving away money or even offering those churches money. I think he was about as far away from being a role model for playing the lottery.....and winning.
There's only two kinds of people that win the lottery, amigos....those that already have money and first time players.
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BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI United States Member #19970 August 3, 2005 613 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 1:20 pm - IP Logged |
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he said that he had 5 years left in life just shows 300 million and 5 years wasn't worth it
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United States
Member #16902
June 2, 2005
3493 Posts
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| Posted: June 8, 2006, 1:22 pm - IP Logged |
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It's terrible that Whittaker is getting sued for $1.5 million for gambling. Whittaker needs to limit gambling.
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Clarksville United States Member #489 July 15, 2002 8482 Posts Online |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 2:06 pm - IP Logged |
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IT is not terrible..it is what he deserves. Anyone who had been blessed with that kind of money who has done nothing but go from one idiotic thing to another deserves that and more. He still has to win the wrongful death suit filed against him. He is pitiful to say the least. It takes Everyone's input to HIT the number..all are equally important.
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Bethesda, Maryland United States Member #17193 June 6, 2005 432 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 2:09 pm - IP Logged |
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Why am I not surprised at this latest in the long line of Jack Whittaker stories ? The broken record just keeps on keepin on... DD HAPPY THURSDAY......"DD".....6/8/2206 I certainly hope you win very soon, because I would love to read a story about all the wonderful fun things that happen to BIG WINNERS....W/BIG PRIZES.....I get tired of all the doom and gloom 
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Bethesda, Maryland United States Member #17193 June 6, 2005 432 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 2:25 pm - IP Logged |
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I wonder if one day he will actually better himself or is he going to keep on doing these tired acts. HAPPY THURSDAY..." BELLYACHE"... You know, for all that's said and done, Jack stays in his own world. In his town, among his family. He has done a great deal for his community, he was never selfish. He has a genuine 'wild streak' in him, that needs to be tamed, but, I think the death of his Granddaughter, who was really "his life" is what ultimately became his emotional downfall. No one expects to bury their Children let alone their Grandchildren, and Brandi was his only grandchild. He's Heartbroken. Yes, he needs counselling, but not pontificating. He is certainly not Banckrupt and not living the Donald Trump Life style, down there in Hurricane, WVA. Afterall, He can afford Gasoline, and AC.
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Washington State United States Member #34373 February 26, 2006 271 Posts Offline |
| Posted: June 8, 2006, 2:58 pm - IP Logged |
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Yea it's tragic that a self made millionaire and well respected member of his community would allow himself to get into all kinds of turmoil. He won enough money to take care of his family for generations to come. Instead he let it get to him and destroy himself and his family. I still think when he offered to help his church pastors and they refused his offers for financial help to build churches etc. that Jack flipped out. He felt as tough he was abandon by the pastors and community. For whatever reason he did an about face and started down the path of destruction. And it snowballed from that point on. He had every opportunity to change the way he was living but chose the direction he is living. He may never be able to live with himself after all the tragedy. Doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would ask for or seek help to get straightened out. At this point to him it may seem hopeless that any kind of recovery might make a difference since the damage is done. The pastors refused his offer to help the churches? That's a new one to me. All the articles I'd read previously had, I thought, indicated that they had accepted the money. Here is a quote from one old article: This week's tragedy "doesn't seem fair," said his pastor, the Rev. C.T. Mathews, for whom Whittaker is building a $4 million church on a hilltop here. And from another: Since then, Whittaker has been pulled between Christian charity and trouble. He is building two churches, feeding and clothing poor children and building senior citizen housing. Both of those quotes were from articles printed in 2004.
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