Nora Al-Daher spent £2million gambling at The Ritz.
A millionaire gambling addict is suing The Ritz, after she lost £2million at its casino in a single night.
Nora Al-Daher – who is married to a wealthy Omani politician – ran up the huge loss in only a few hours at the famous London hotel’s exclusive club.
Mrs Al-Daher, 50, spent the fortune playing punto banco, a card game similar to baccarat.
She is blaming the club for her losses, claiming that staff should have stopped her from playing.
She claims that workers were aware of her gambling problem but encouraged her to keep playing, and extended her cheque cashing facility as her losses built up.
At the High Court, she said: “I needed someone that night to tell me to stop playing and bring me to my senses.
“If I had been told to stop, of course I would have done so immediately.
“But no one ever told me to stop or to think about my gambling.”
The court also heard how Mrs Al-Daher, who is married to Omani Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al-Busaidi, and lives in Muscat, Oman, had already suffered “significant” losses at other casinos that night before she arrived at The Ritz.
She said she did not want to gamble, but hours later her £1.7million cheque cashing limit had been reached, and extended since she was £2million down.
Her barrister, Robert Deacon, said: “Staff positively encouraged her when she was losing, saying, ‘Anything for you, Princess Nora. We trust you. No problem. Don’t worry… the next time you will get your money back’.”
Mrs Al-Daher first realised she was a gambling addict in 1999 between that year and April 2012, The Ritz alone had received more than £20million in buy-ins from her, of which she lost more than £7million.
Mrs Al-Daher, said: “They should have discouraged me but instead they took advantage of me.”
The case reached the High Court after The Ritz sued Mrs Al-Daher for £1million, alleging some of the cheques she handed over that night were not honoured, which they only discovered months later.
The casino denies Mrs Al-Daher’s accusations, claiming that it is not unusual for a gambler to have their cheque cashing facility extended.
Ritz boss, Roger Maris, told the court: “She was a very good customer and there had been a very good history of paying.
“There was no thought in our mind that the cheques were not going to get paid.”
The case continues.
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