Girls Gone Wild Founder Francis Cleared Of Gambling Charges

It is common practice in Las Vegas to hand out markers to high profile clients. The gamblers that receive the markers are usually high rollers, or well-known celebrities that the casino knows has the money to cover any debts they accrue.

Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis was given one of these markers back in 2008 from Wynn Las Vegas. The casino's owner, Steve Wynn, alleged last year that Francis had bailed on his commitment to repay the debt. Wynn went to the district attorney's office, who filed criminal charges against Francis.

On Wednesday, Districy Judge Linda Bell ruled that Francis had no intentions of bailing on his ndebt. Instead, Judge Bell indicated that the blame in the case should be on Wynn, who held the marker for sixteen months before trying to cash the check.

Francis has maintained all along that he had no intentions of not paying the debt. He felt he was being wrongly accused, and on Wednesday in a telephone interview with the Las Vegas-Review Journal, Francis made his future intentions very clear, he wants his attorney's fees paid.

"I plan on going after Steve Wynn for everything this case has cost me financially and what it has done to my reputation," said Francis. The victory was sweet for Francis, but the prosecution will be left to wonder what went wrong.

The judge indicated in her ruling that the prosecution failed to provide "slight or marginal" evidence to the grand jury. The smallest amount of evidence is needed to move aq case forward, and without such evidence, cases such as these are generally considered a major failure for the prosecution.

Francis maintained that this disturbance would not change how he viewed Sin City, or how often he goes back. The Girls Gone Wild founder claims he will still visit Vegas often, and hopes to stay at some of the top casino resorts in Nevada when he does make those visits.

Genting Has Big Plans For Casino Gambling In Miami
Casino Revenue Helping Keep Blue Jackets In Columbus
High Fuel Costs Being Used As Promotion For Horseshoe Casino
Macau Gaming Industry Set To Grow With New Wynn Casino
Nevada Casinos See Revenue Increase Of Nearly Four Percent In July