The Law Suit’s Getting Started (at Mohegan Sun)*

Last week’s news on the judicial front included a nice bit about a fellow who is poaching on a $1.2M gambling debt to Connecticut casino Mohegan Sun.

Jerome Powers may not have known when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, or know when to walk away. But Powers, who’s the millionaire CEO of Plum TV, a “lifestyle” cable network for the well to do, knew when to run. And that’s when the gambling debts get a bit steep.

Powers, who is one of those high-roller gamblers that the casinos like to woo, lost a cool $1.2M on blackjack. Then,

Powers wrote six checks to the casino to pay his debt, but they were not honored by his bank, court documents say. Payment was stopped on a $465,000 check, and the others were returned because the accounts were closed, according to copies of the returned checks.

Now Powers is asking that a lower court ruling that he has to pay up be tossed aside. He argues that the agreement he had with Mohegan Sun to advance him a wee bit of a credit line for the blackjack table was an illegal gambling contract. (“Shocked, I’m shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.”) The case, Powers contends, should have no standing in the Connecticut judicial system because the casino is run by a sovereign Indian nation, the Mohegan Tribe.

It will be interesting to see how this one ends up. If I were a betting man, I’d lay odds that, if nothing else, there won’t be any casinos around willing to front Powers a big pile of chips for the blackjack table any time soon.

So if the party won’t be getting started at Mohegan Sun again, Powers will have to content himself with watching World Series of Poker re-runs. Or keeping up with the goings and comings of the rich and “famous” by channel cruising Plum TV.

For those of us too low-end to realize that “The Best Things in Life Are Plum”:

Plum is a multi-platform lifestyle network that targets the most active, influential, and educated audience in the world. With hundreds of hours of original content from the favorite destinations of this hard-to-reach demographic— Aspen, Nantucket, The Hamptons, Miami Beach and more—Plum combines the power of hyper-local with high-quality national programming. The result is a unique television, internet and digital device destination that has become the channel of choice for millions of viewers.

By the way, “and more”, if you’re curious, is Telluride, Sun Valley, Vail, and Martha’s Vineyard. (Personally, I’m pretty darned proud to live in a state with two of the favorite destinations of such a hard-to-reach demographic.)

And here’s what you’ve been missing if you haven’t yet made Plum TV your hyper-local digital device destination:

Sand Collectors:

George Lynch and Carol Gilbert of Southampton have been adding to a sand collection that began over forty years ago. To see sand from so many beaches right next to each other really gives you a chance to appreciate how different beaches really are.

I am dusting off my sea-shells when I get home. And I will never tell anyone to go pound sand again without considering what type of sand they should go pound.

And then there’s Must See TV digital device content on My Vail:

In this full episode of My Vail, host Mark Bricklin (Vail Daily) introduces us to local celebrities & iconic Vail personalities, including Kelly Liken, Chris Anthony, Ryan & Trista Sutter, Helmut Fricker and more, who share their favorite experiences of the Vail lifestyle.

Helmut Fricker! Not THE Helmut Fricker – entertainer and master bookbinder. (Yodel-ay-hee-hoo.)

In truth, perhaps because I don’t watch Plum TV (yet), I had actually not heard of iconic personalities like Kelly Liken, Chris Anthony, and Helmut Fricker. I mean, it’s not like they’re Kardashians or anything. Sheesh!

But I am colossally embarrassed to admit that I am moderately familiar with Ryan and Trista Sutter. They met, I believe, on The Bachelor. Or The Bachelorette. He the hunky Vail firefighter, she the cute blonde lookin’ for love. Sigh! They found each other and I do believe that their nuptials, like the upcoming “do” joining William and Kate, were televised. For a fee. So that they could live happily ever after as reality stars. Sniff, sniff. No wonder people cry at weddings. I missed that show, but now that I know that I can keep up with the Sutters on Plum TV, I will be subscribing.

It’s the least I can do to help out Jerome Powers.

After all, if the Mohegan Tribe prevails, he’s going to have to cough up the $1.2M

The wonder of it all!*

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*For non-New England readers: The Party’s Getting Started, at Mohegan Sun, is the jingle used by this casino in their ubiquitous TV ads. The wonder of it all is a jingle catchphrase for Mohegan’s sun rival casino, Foxwoods.