Atlantic City, NJ–
“She was an ambitious lawyer and TV commentator who starting going to Atlantic City casinos to relax, and soon was getting high-roller treatment that included limousines whisking her to the resort….But her gambling spun out of control…She says her losses totaled nearly $1 million.
“Now she’s chasing the longest of long shots: a $20 million racketeering lawsuit in federal court against six Atlantic City casinos and one in Las Vegas, claiming they had a duty to notice her compulsive gambling problem and cut her off.”
In family court fathers are often vilified by their ex-wives and their exes’ attorneys. Whatever it is, somehow dad is always wrong and has let everyone down.
Feminist family law attorney Arelia Margarita Taveras (pictured) wrote The Gangsta Girls’ Guide To Child Support, described by the Associated Press as a “guidebook for women dealing with deadbeat dads in the court system.” According to the AP, Taveras’ gambling losses totaled nearly $1 million. She lost her law practice, her apartment, her parents’ home, and owes the IRS $58,000. She dipped into her clients’ escrow accounts to finance her gambling habit, was disbarred last June, and faces criminal charges.
She does know right where to place the blame, though–on the casinos. “They had a duty of care to me,” she explains.
It certainly is sad to see someone destroy their life this way. Still, given her “it’s always their fault” mentality, can you imagine what it would be like if this was your ex’s lawyer?
The story is below–thanks to Katie, a reader, for sending it to me.
Woman Files $20M Long-Shot Casino Suit
By Wayne Perry, Associated Press
3/8/08
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) She was an ambitious lawyer and TV commentator who starting going to Atlantic City casinos to relax, and soon was getting high-roller treatment that included limousines whisking her to the resort.
Arelia Margarita Taveras says she was even allowed to bring her dog, Sasha, to the blackjack tables, sitting in her purse.
But her gambling spun out of control: She said she would go days at a time at the tables, not eating or sleeping, brushing her teeth with disposable wipes so she didn’t have to leave.
She says her losses totaled nearly $1 million.
Now she’s chasing the longest of long shots: a $20 million racketeering lawsuit in federal court against six Atlantic City casinos and one in Las Vegas, claiming they had a duty to notice her compulsive gambling problem and cut her off.
“They knew I was going for days without eating or sleeping,” Taveras said. “I would pass out at the tables. They had a duty of care to me. Nobody in their right mind would gamble for four or five straight days without sleeping.”
Experts say her case will be difficult to prove, but it provides an unusually detailed window into the life of a problem gambler.
“It’s like crack, only gambling is worse than crack because it’s mental,” said Taveras, 37, a New Yorker who now lives in Minnesota. “It creeps up on you, the impulse. It’s a sickness.”
She lost her law practice, her apartment, her parents’ home, and owes the IRS $58,000. She said she even considered swerving into oncoming traffic to kill herself.
In interviews with The Associated Press, Taveras admitted she dipped into her clients’ escrow accounts to finance her gambling habit. She was disbarred last June, and faces criminal charges stemming from those actions, but is trying to work out restitution agreements in order to avoid a prison term.
Her lawsuit names Resorts Atlantic City, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, the Tropicana Casino Resort, the Showboat Casino Hotel, Bally’s Atlantic City, as well as the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The casinos deny any wrongdoing, maintaining in court papers that Taveras brought her problems on herself. Casino representatives either declined to comment for this report or did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Last month, a judge dismissed the Trump casinos, the Tropicana, Showboat and Bally’s from the lawsuit on technical grounds, but allowed Taveras to refile the suit against them by April. The suit remains in effect against Resorts and MGM because its allegations against them were more specific…
As a young lawyer, Taveras made a name for herself representing the families of victims of American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed in New York City’s borough of Queens in November 2001, killing 265 people.
Her practice had 400 clients and earned her $500,000 a year. She appeared on TV and radio to discuss legal issues, wrote a guidebook for women dealing with deadbeat dads in the court system, titled “The Gangsta Girls’ Guide To Child Support,” and was a regular contributor to Hispanic culture Web sites. In 2000, the New York Daily News named her one of “21 New Yorkers to Watch in the 21st Century.”
Read the full article here.