Hot Checks, Theft lead to Arrest Warrant for Poker Pro Ted Forrest

Ted Forrest is the type of poker pro everyone immediately recognizes at the tables. At 51 years of age, he’s been racking up tournament cashes – and half a dozen WSOP bracelets – for the last 25 years, and shows no sign of stopping. Unless, of course, he ends up spending the next few years behind bars – in which case he may find himself playing Stud with Big Tim in cell block 8.

That’s the situation currently facing the American poker pro following a lawsuit filed against him. The litigation was filed by Wynn Las Vegas, claiming Ted Forrest owes the casino more than a quarter million dollars. The financial deficiency dates back to 2012 and 2013, when the poker player cashed two checks at the casino totaling $215,000.

According to Wynn, both of them were hot checks, returned to the casino by Ted’s bank with the dreaded ‘NSF‘ stamp inked across the front, meaning they bounced due to insufficient funds.

Wynn filed a civil suit against Ted Forrest in 2013, and an arrangement was agreed upon in which the high-stakes poker pro would pay back the full amount – which he admitted to be in excess of a quarter million dollars at the time – in 10 monthly installments. But according to David Ferrara of the Las Vegas Review Journal, Forrest didn’t hold up his end of the bargain.

Could Ted Forrest Really Be Broke?

Ted Forrest at 2006 WSOP  photo flipchip

Dating back to 1991, Forrest has racked up more than $6.3 million in well over 100 live poker tournament cashes. 23 of them were 1^st place routings, along with 17 runner up finishes, and 13 more where he ended in 3^rd. That’s more that 50 tournaments with a 1-to-3 place finish – an impressive feat for any poker pro – and that’s just his recorded earnings.

Along the way, Forrest snagged 6 WSOP bracelets and a WPT Championship in 2007 that still stands as his largest single-event cash of $1.1 million. Being a regular at the high-stakes cash tables throughout his career, there’s no telling how much he’s racked up in ring games, either.

2012 and 2013 were definitely slow years for the New York native who now resides in the heart of the gambling action in Las Vegas. He only recorded three live cashes – two in 2012 worth a combined total of $20,884, and one in 2013 for just $1k.

Between 2014 and now, he’s won $259,040 in live events (minus buy-ins) – better, but hardly enough to cover the debt and still live day to day.

Prop Bets May Be Poker Pro’s Downfall

It’s not known whether Forrest has managed his fortune well; likely not considering the circumstances. We do know that he’s rather notorious for making big money prop bets; perhaps the most famous being against fellow poker pro Mike ‘The Mouth‘ Matusow.

In 2010, Matusow bet $2 million that Ted couldn’t drop his weight from 188 to under 140 pounds in just a few months time. Forrest took the bet, and shed the weight, but says Matusow has only paid him $70,500. If Mike were to cough up the remaining $1.925 million he presumably owes, Forrest’s financial woes would certainly disappear.

But Mike claims he doesn’t have to pay the bet because the two were extremely drunk at the time. In 2014, he Tweeted, “Four years ago me and Ted made a bet and were very drunk when we made it. I then told him I don’t want the bet cause I can’t afford to lose.”

Arrest Warrant Issued in Clark County

Whatever the case may be, the 6x WSOP bracelet winner is in hot water now. A warrant has been issued in Clark County for Ted Forrest’s arrest, and his attorney is working around the clock to make sure he stays out of jail.

“We believe this is a long-standing civil dispute,” said his attorney, Chris Rasmussen, in a statement to Lav Vegas Review Journal. “Now . . . they’ve moved to prosecute.”

Ted faces multiple charges, including writing hot checks and theft. If found guilty, he could face several years in prison. According to LVJR, Rasmussen will request revocation of the warrant from the judge.