Little did anyone but his accountant know that he had another dirty little secret. Years previously, he had invested almost all of his wealth into a very high‑yielding overseas fund and more recently, that had crashed overnight, sending him wildly into debt. But late one night, he and Vance met with some overseas bankers and secured a massive loan against casino properties he owned in Las Vegas. The casinos were not paying their way, and day by day Jerry was sinking into a giant whirlpool of liability. Once a month, he would secretly meet with his creditors and plead for an extension of his loans, each time assuring them that things would come right with the casinos.
At one of these meetings, his creditors advised him that they wanted to balance their books, and that he had until the end of the month to meet interest payments. If he was unable to do so they would take radical steps to "secure their investment."
After that meeting, Jerry took steps to acquire more credit through large city banks, but each time he was turned down, something he wasn't used to. This added more fuel to his simmering anger. His call to his accountant was pointed with expletives:
"Vance, I don't care what you have to do, but get me some credit somewhere!" With his veins bulging in his neck, he screamed,
"I don't care how much interest you have to pay, or where you have to go to get it, but get it. Now!" Click!
In a last ditch effort, he secured a huge loan from a foreign bank and embarked on a two million dollar television advertising blitz to promote his casinos. He also made public the fact that he had low‑risk, high‑yielding bonds, and vast quantities of revenue poured in from trusting investors. But instead of investing the money into bonds, he secretly used it for advertisements. He hoped to pay it back when the campaign roused the casinos from their slumber. But the advertising campaign was a disaster. Much to his horror the economy suddenly went sour and people held onto their dollars with a tight fist, sucking him even further and further into his mammoth whirlpool.
To try and keep his head above water, he mortgaged everything he still owned outside of his business. This included his home, his massive yacht and one of his two luxury cars, to yield liquid cash to stay with the extravagant lifestyle he so loved. He wouldn't face reality. Jeremiah P. Adamson was living in a dream-world, thinking that somehow he would never have to balance the books.
The sale of his assets, along with a large short‑term and high interest loan Vance secured through a private corporation in Florida, eased the pressure from his creditors. However, in time the stress began to take its toll on Jerry. This once happy man became deeply depressed and began drinking copious amounts of alcohol just to make it through each day. His dream-world turned into a nightmare. The parties, the admirers, the compliments didn't do for him what they once did.
It was evident to his close friends that something was drastically wrong. His creditor's phone calls became frequent and heated. His fast lane had become a dead end.
To be continued...
