When "Mr. S" showed up in Las Vegas, bellboys, butlers and blackjack dealers made sure they were prepared for the high-rolling Fry's Electronics executive flying in from San Jose with his long list of demands.
Fiji water, grouped in bottles of three. Golden raisins and warmed mixed nuts. Aramis cologne and badger hair shaving brush. Lint-free towels. Dom Perignon Rose champagne and Kurosawa Sake in the fridge. And never, under any circumstances, approach him from behind.
If they didn't want to face Mr. S's wrath, maids knew to arrange bowls of Glitterati Mentissimo peppermints adorned with a single rose throughout his suite, and to stock his shower with Nioxin shampoo for "fine and thinning hair." White vases were a no-no — he considered them bad luck.
None of those rules will apply when Mr. S — aka Ausaf "Omar" Umar Siddiqui — is arraigned Thursday in federal court in San Jose on charges that the former Fry's executive laundered about $6 million in kickbacks from vendors to pay off his enormous gambling debts in Las Vegas.
Mr. S's guest profile, obtained by the Mercury News, is outlined in seven pages of do's, don'ts and "not under any circumstances" culled by hotel and casino employees, offering a rare glimpse into the glitzy world of big-time gamblers. The profile, which never mentions Siddiqui by name, was provided by a casino employee who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job. Siddiqui, a
42-year-old Palo Alto bachelor, was among a select group of high-rollers whose whims are catered to.One lawsuit from Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino says Siddiqui lost nearly $9 million in just one sitting of baccarat. Another suit claims he lost $2 million in one day at the Palms Casino in Vegas. Court records show the IRS tracked about $120 million Siddiqui spent in three years at just two casinos, the Venetian and MGM.
"Casinos give you free hotel rooms, free food, free drinks, all that stuff," said David Schwartz, director of the Gaming Studies Research Center at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. "It's pretty much what the players expect. If they don't get the mints they want, the players will just go somewhere else."
Siddiqui has declined several requests for interviews, by phone, in person and through his civil attorney, Eric Sidebotham.
Fry's vendors and employees have told the Mercury News Siddiqui was not a manager to be crossed. And the hotel guest profile describes Siddiqui as a gambler who insisted on getting his way.
Once, two years ago, according to an internal e-mail at one Vegas hotel, Siddiqui demonstrated dramatically to hotel personnel just how flimsy he thought their clothes hangers were, shaking his closet hangers so hard that his pants flung off and demanding the hotel buy better brands. The same e-mail recounts how Siddiqui fumed after it took 40 minutes to deliver a room service order for egg rolls and pot stickers.
Hotel butlers shared notes, reminding each other that when Mr. S visited, "no one is to enter the suite unescorted or unannounced except the butler assigned." And when Siddiqui was entertaining, the notes remind staff that the "butler will need to maintain a presence, if not in the room, then in the pantry with the door open so requests can be heard." The staff knew when to leave, too. Siddiqui will "dismiss you by requesting privacy. He will be very direct with this request. Leave until he contacts you."
Siddiqui never drank when he was gambling, one casino employee said. However, his guest profile shows, he liked his room stocked with Grey Goose vodka, Crown Royal, Johnnie Walker Black, Jack Daniels, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur, Dom Perignon, Kurosawa Sake and expensive cognac bottles of Hardy Perfection and Remy Martin Louis XIII.
Siddiqui also was quite particular about his body. Hotel employees had a long shopping list at Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Macy's, and, yes, Target and Wal-Mart, if need be, to purchase a Philips Norelco Bodygroom shaver with a fog-free shaving mirror, a Sonicare Elite 7500 Series toothbrush, Clinique facial scrub for men, knuckle Band-Aids, original ChapStick, Crest mint gel toothpaste with tartar protection and Trojan Magnum condoms.
He was just as fastidious about his clothing. He ordered hotel employees to buy him socks made of 70 percent silk and 30 percent cotton. Housecleaning was to inspect his meticulously organized closet for dirty clothing and send it for dry-cleaning, including his jeans. Starch and creasing were forbidden. His shoes were to be polished and returned to the closet, laces tied, wooden inserts replaced.
Siddiqui also expected his luxury suite to look a certain way. Roses in vases of any color other than white, and scented candles were scattered artfully throughout the room. The TVs should be set to ESPN; he especially liked Ultimate Fighting Championship matches. "Porn" had to be available in the bedroom, and the rotating bed was to be turned down constantly, with a light blanket, and a comforter placed nearby.
For breakfast, Siddiqui liked Earl Grey tea with four packets of sugar and 3/4 teaspoon cream, three eggs over easy, hash browns, sourdough toast, orange juice and a plate of papaya, mango and pineapple.
And while casino employees were sent scrambling to fill Mr. S's shopping list, there was one request he required from the electronics giant he helped build over the past two decades: The V3 cell phone batteries and BR50 desktop charger had to be purchased at Fry's.
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