1MDB trial: Jho Low lost US$26 million at a single Las Vegas casino, court hears

In a single 90-minute stint playing baccarat the Malaysian financier lost US$1.75 million, a marketing executive at The Venetian testified

Low was known as a ‘premium’ guest and wagered almost US$87 million at the casino, the 1MDB bribery trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng heard

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Jho Low lost US$1.75 million in a 90-minute stint of Baccarat, the court heard. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 3:22pm, 18 Mar 2022

Jho Low was a big man in Vegas. He sported gold lamé suits, travelled with an entourage and lost tens of millions of dollars, a New York jury was told.

In a single 90-minute stint playing baccarat, his game of choice, the Malaysian financier lost US$1.75 million, Kirk Godby, a marketing executive at the The Venetian in Las Vegas, testified.

All told, Low wagered almost US$87 million at The Venetian and lost about US$26 million, Godby estimated.

The Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Photo: Handout

“He was extremely extravagant,” Godby said. “He had requests that were parallel to none. He made requests like he wanted disco balls, dance floors and DJs.”

Godby was testifying in the bribery trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scam. Ng is accused of conspiring with Low and Ng’s former boss Tim Leissner to help the financier steal billions of dollars from three bond deals Goldman underwrote for the 1Malaysia Development Bhd. wealth fund. Low is now a fugitive.

Prosecutors may have called Godby to refute Ng’s October 2009 claims to Goldman superiors that he had met Low only once before, when he recommended the financier as a private wealth client to the bank.