Clinton Portis Allegedly Paid Atlantic City Casino Debt with Bad Checks

Former NFL running back Clinton Portis' financial woes may have gotten worse, as he allegedly tried to pay back a casino loan with checks that did not clear. 

According to a filing from the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City (per Barry Petchesky of Deadspin), the casino alleges it gave Portis a $170,000 advance and his checks bounced when he tried to pay the establishment back.   

In December, Portis filed for bankruptcy, with the filing showing he owed roughly $5 million to various creditors, according to A.J. Perez of USA Today. 

Speaking on ESPN Radio 980 (via Clinton Yates of the Washington Post) about his financial woes, Portis explained that his problems began long ago: 

"

The casino investment came out when T.O. first came out and told you about the casino. It’s the same casino that everyone was in. Floyd Mayweather, Jamie Foxx, Terrell Owens, the list goes on of guys that were involved in this. This is the regret, that Jeff Rubin of Pro Sports is the guy behind all of this. No one mentions Jeff Rubin, who’s the financial adviser. … He should be in jail. We’re talking about someone owing a couple million dollars, but this man has run off with $100M.

"

The casino he mentions was the subject of a lawsuit that involved former NFL players Terrell Owens and Duane Starks against an attorney after the Alabama-based project went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

According to Petchesky's report, Portis was able to pay back the Borgata $30,000 of the $200,000 he was ultimately loaned, and the casino's complaint against the former Pro Bowler claims he "knew he did not have the money to repay his debts when he received the line of credit."

Under bankruptcy laws, per Petchesky, Portis' debt to the casino would be non-dischargeable if it was obtained under “false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud.”

Portis made an estimated $43 million during his nine-year NFL career with Denver and Washington. He last played in 2010, but injuries limited him to 13 games over his final two seasons.

The former second-round pick was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2002 and had at least 1,000 rushing yards in six of his nine seasons.