In jail for being in debt

[Rupert Pupkin]

When it comes to Las Vegas, there is a such thing as debtor's prison. If you refuse to pay off your markers, the casinos can have you arrested. Here is how they get away with it: When you sign a marker, you are actually signing a check. If you don't pay off your marker, they can have you arrested for writing bad checks. And it doesn't matter what state you live in. Once the warrant for your arrest is issued in Las Vegas, it becomes a warrant that is good in every state. If you get pulled over in a state like Colorado (or any state), when the officer sees that there is a warrant out for your arrest in Las vegas, they will take you to jail.

I have two different friends that this happened to. The one guy is a dentist that lives in Colorado. He got arrested in Colorado. The other guy is a producer that lives here in Los Angeles and he got arrested in Los Angeles after a routine traffic stop.

I don't think there is any excuse for not paying off a debt, even to a casino. However, if the law is that you can't be arrested for a normal debt, then you shouldn't be arrested for a gambling debt.