JOE FRANCIS ORDERED TO PAY TWO MILLION

Joe Francis has been ordered to pay off a $2 million gambling debt. Bosses at casino resort Wynn Las Vegas, who took Francis to court over the outstanding money, argued that he had refused to cooperate at a court deposition last February. The Girls Gone Wild icon, was accused of disrespecting the legal proceedings by passing gas while testifying and refusing to admit whether he had a cell phone, despite answering a call on the phone. When Francis was asked if he could understand English during the proceedings, he read aloud the Fifth Amendment from the Bill of Rights, which allows him to refuse to testify, from a card handed to him by his attorney. He also pleaded the Fifth when asked about his earlier allegations that Wynn bosses had provided him with prostitutes to increase his gambling debts in February 2007, declining to answer whether they were male or female or if he'd had sex with them. But the lawyers for the casino, argued that Francis had improperly used the Fifth Amendment and, as a result, District Judge Michelle Leavitt ruled in favor of the casino and ordered Francis to pay the $2 million debt, which, with interest and legal fees, could total as much as $3 million. The deposition had to be carried out in the kitchen of a California community center because he's not allowed to travel outside the state, where he is also facing an ongoing tax evasion case. He is expected to appeal the ruling.
Photo By: Sara De Boer/Retna