[toc]Ted Forrest, a six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and renowned gambler, has had a warrant for his arrest issued by the Las Vegas police, according to the Review Journal.
Forrest won his first WSOP bracelet in 1993 and his most recent in 2014. He has over $6.3 million in lifetime tournament earnings.
About the alleged felonies
Forrest, identified in the complaint as William Edward Forrest, is alleged to have tried to pass two checks to the Wynn casino in Las Vegas.
The checks totalled $215,000 and Forrest had insufficient funds to pay them. He has now been charged with two felonies: drawing and passing a check without sufficient funds with the intent to defraud, and theft.
The checks were passed between October 28, 2012 and May 17, 2013. The complaint was filed in Las Vegas Justice Court on Friday, September 2.
Disputing the charges
Chris Rasmussen, attorney for Forrest, believes that the poker champion does not owe the casino money and was extended a line of credit to play on a casino marker.
“We believe this is a long-standing civil dispute,” Rasmussen said. “And now that he’s in a dispute with them, they’ve moved to prosecute.”
Rasmussen said he would be seeking to have a judge recall the arrest warrant during a court hearing this week.
About Ted Forrest
Forrest had accrued some $100,000 in tournament cashes when he had a breakout year at the 1993 WSOP, winning three bracelets. He is one of only five players to have achieved this; interestingly, Phil Hellmuth managed the same feat that same summer.
Forrest is well known for taking part in high-stakes mixed games in Las Vegas, and was one of the players who took on billionaire Andy Beal in the biggest poker games ever recorded as part of The Corporation.
Ted Forrest’s other debts
According to Clark County District Court, Forrest signed a confession in 2013 stating that he owed Wynn $270,000. He agreed to make 10 monthly repayments of $10,000 and one payment of $170,000; as of July 2015 he had not complied, but the case was closed.
Additionally, The Mirage filed a lawsuit in September 2015 claiming that Forrest owed 40.5 per cent of a $100,000 loan. A judge ruled in favor of the casino.
Forrest still owed $1.73 million from fellow pro?
As well as being a poker champion, Forrest is known for making major prop bets away from the tables. He famously won a $1.8 million weight loss prop bet with fellow pro Mike Matusow in 2010.
Forrest bet Matusow $100,000 at 18/1 that he could drop from 188 pounds to 140 pounds in three months. Forrest did it, only after spending 11 days at starvation levels and running daily half-marathons.
However, in September 2014 Forrest revealed that Matusow had only paid $70,500 of the $1.8 million owed. The two had apparently agreed that Matusow would pay $5,000 a month for 18 years.
