Casino sues over dud cheques

One of Britain's biggest gamblers who has laid bets worth £21 million in cash at the country's top casino has had his assets, including a private Boeing 727 and £158,000 Rolls-Royce, frozen in a High Court writ over unpaid gaming debts.

Fouad Al Zayat, affectionately known on the London gambling circuit as The Fat Man, is being sued by the Ritz casino over £2 million in bounced cheques in the biggest court action of its kind.

Former gaming friends of Syrian-born Mr Al Zayat, who favours roulette and cards, claim he may have gambled as much as £150 million in casinos since 1995.

The fact that his gambling habits have been made public because of the legal action demonstrates the casino's anger. It is extremely rare for a gaming establishment to reveal the identity of its clients, let alone their spending activities.

Aidan Barclay, son of the reclusive multi-millionaire Sir David Barclay who with his brother Sir Frederick are reported to be the 48th richest men in Britain, owns the company which runs the Ritz casino.

Syrian-born Mr Al Zayat, speaking from his office in Cyprus last week, said: "This is the only sin I have. I have lost a lot of money. I know it's wrong to lose money like this but if you've ever been to a casino you will understand what the atmosphere is like."

Last month Mr Al Zayat was served with court papers at his apartment in the Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane. These revealed how he gambled £21 million after he became a member of the Ritz in 1998. The documents show that Mr Al Zayat visited 156 times between 1999 and 2001, losing nearly £10 million in cash.

Nine months ago the Ritz agreed to let him use cheques. But over the next few weeks, Mr Al Zayat gave the casino seven cheques in exchange for £2 million-worth of chips and the writ alleges that all the cheques bounced.

The casino has obtained orders freezing Mr Al Zayat's bank accounts in London, the Isle of Man, Geneva and Cyprus. The entrepreneur, said to have acted as an intermediary in several contracts for the supply of defence-related equipment in Cyprus and the Middle East, is now being sued for the £2 million plus £90,302 interest.

If the case goes to court, it is set to give a rare insight into the extravagant lives of the "whales" - those high rollers of the gambling world which number media tycoon Kerry Packer, the Sultan of Brunei and Saudi Arabian businessman Adnan Khashoggi.

One casino director who knows Mr Al Zayat said: "He has been known to spend £1 million comfortably in an evening. He is also a huge tipper and it's not unusual for him to tip £1,000 to a waitress who brings him tea and biscuits."

Australian Mr Packer however is the undisputed king of the "whales" and tales of his multi-million pound wins and losses abound. In a legendary confrontation at a Las Vegas casino, Mr Packer called over a Texan oilman who had complained about his entourage making too much noise and asked how much he was worth. "$50 million," came the reply. "I'll toss you for it," said Mr Packer. The oilman quickly left.