Casino sues Powerball winner over losses

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Caesars casino is suing the winner of a $315 million lottery jackpot, claiming he bounced checks worth $1.5 million trying to cover gambling losses.

Jack Whittaker, whose Powerball win in 2002 was at the time the largest undivided lottery jackpot, claims he doesn't owe the money.

In response to the Caesars lawsuit, Whittaker said the casino owes him money because it agreed to give him a percentage of revenue from a slot machine he developed and to credit his gambling losses.

The casino, owned by Harrah's Entertainment, filed the lawsuit in 2005, a year after it said the bad checks were written. The case came to light recently when the documents were subpoenaed in an unrelated wrongful-death lawsuit against Whittaker.

The lawsuit involves Jesse Joe Tribble, 18, who was found dead in a home owned by Whittaker in September 2004. Tribble knew Whittaker's 17-year-old granddaughter, and the lawsuit claims she bought drugs with Whittaker's money and shared the drugs.

Tribble's father blames Whittaker, who had custody of his granddaughter.

Whittaker says Tribble bought the drugs and his granddaughter, Brandi Bragg, wasn't home when Tribble died.

Since his Powerball win, Whittaker has been arrested for drunken driving, had hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen and Bragg died of a drug overdose.