Las Vegas casino chases Josh Schuster to New York

Mirage claims developer owes $25K gambling debt

Silverback's Josh Schuster with The Mirage hotel and casino in Vegas (Getty)

Orion Jones

Mar 1, 2023, 5:00 PM

Not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

A five-figure gambling debt has followed condo developer Josh Schuster from the Mirage casino and hotel in Las Vegas to his home in New York, after he allegedly failed to repay losses in full.

The casino asked a Manhattan court on Tuesday to enforce a $25,000 judgment against Schuster, and add $4,600 in interest payments.

Schuster signed promissory notes worth $350,000 to gamble on credit at the Mirage during the ICSC conference, one of real estate’s largest annual back-slapping events, in 2019. The New York lawsuit says he paid back $325,000, but the casino was unable to collect the balance. A $25,000 judgment was entered against Schuster after he failed to appear at a Nevada court hearing in 2021.

According to Schuster, the debt is not actually his. He said the losses were racked up by a client his development firm hosted at the conference. Schuster admitted the debt was in his name, however, and said he expects to settle with the casino for less than the full amount owed.

“The only form of gambling I do is real estate development,” he said, alluding to the risks of the business — and the personalities it attracts to take them.

The Mirage’s effort to transfer the judgment against Schuster to New York may be an attempt to find and freeze assets in order to pay off his debt. An attorney for the Mirage declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Schuster also remarked that he has been sober for more than a year, following a report by The Real Deal that exposed mounting legal disputes over claims of financial mismanagement at his development projects.

Despite his gambling debt, Schuster still appears to be living like a high roller. Legal documents filed by the Mirage gave a home address for Schuster on East 82nd Street that was last listed for $20,000 per month in rent, according to StreetEasy.