NHL Star Evander Kane Files for Bankruptcy, Owes Gambling Debts

Posted on: January 12, 2021, 08:22h. 

Last updated on: January 12, 2021, 12:06h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

The San Jose Sharks’ Evander Kane has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, as documents in a California court this week shed light on his prodigious gambling habit. The NHL left-winger is $26.8 million in debt, according to the court filings. He has lost $1.5 million gambling over the past month alone.

Evander Kane
San Jose Sharks’ Evander Kane, seen here, may sit out next season, according to bankruptcy filings this week. (Image: Getty)

The bankruptcy filing comes just days after the Centennial bank sued Kane and the Sharks in a Florida federal court, claiming the Canadian veteran owes it $8.3 million in principal and interest.

According to Centennial, Kane received a multimillion-dollar loan in September 2018, which was secured by his Sharks contract, a seven-year, $49 million extension inked that May.

The Sharks were contractually obligated to pay the bank back directly from Kane’s wages. But the bank stopped receiving payments from the team in October 2019. Kane made no payments on the loan since December 2019, according to the lawsuit.

Cosmo Markers

Kane’s gambling — and possible financial disarray — first came into hard focus in November 2019. That’s when the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas sued the athlete to recover $500,000 in unpaid casino markers.

According to the Cosmo complaint, the casino had given Kane eight lines of credit in amounts ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 on April 15, 2019, which he had not paid back.

Kane had good reason to be blowing off steam on that particular day, because his team was in town to face the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL playoffs and had been beaten 5-0. The Cosmopolitan dropped the case last April, presumably because the debt was settled.

Kane May Miss New Season

Chapter 7 is a solution of last resort where the debtor loses all assets apart from those considered necessary for basic living. Kane’s filing lists $10.2 million in assets, including three homes.

It also lists 47 creditors. Despite earning a salary of $7 million a year, Kane declared his monthly income as minus-$91,131.13.

He also lists seven dependents living with him including his parents, two uncles, and a grandmother.

According to the filing, Kane’s finances could soon be squeezed even harder. He may sit out the new season, which starts tomorrow, “because of health concerns given the recent birth of his first child.”

“Should he terminate his contract or opt-out at a point in the season, Debtor will not receive his salary,” notes the filing.

Kane is also engaged in expensive litigation against a woman who accused him of attacking her in a hotel room in 2016, whom he has countersued.