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"&lt;img alt=\"0307-antonio-tarver-02\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2014/03/08/0307-antonio-tarver-3.jpg\" /&gt;He might be the welcher-weight champion of the world ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned &lt;strong&gt;Antonio Tarver&lt;/strong&gt; was sued over unpaid gambling debts by TWO VEGAS CASINOS before his problems with the Wynn.&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to court docs, Tarver got into some trouble with the MGM Grand and the Bellagio back in 2009 after taking out a heavy-duty gambling marker at each hotel and failing to pay it back.&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGM Grand says ... Tarver borrowed $100k but only paid back $10k&lt;br /&gt;Bellagio says ... Tarver borrowed $50k but only paid back $5k.&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They sued -- and according to court records, both casinos got their money back two years later.&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But Tarver didn't learn his lesson. As we previously reported,&amp;#160;the 45-year-old was locked up for allegedly skipping out on a $200,000 gambling marker from the Wynn stemming from 2012.&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tarver suggested his friend would help him repay the debt -- &lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/2014/03/05/antonio-tarver-released-from-jail-ill-box-to-repay-my-debt/\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;as long as he gets back in the ring&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and starts boxing again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We spoke to Tarver's reps who insist the guy does NOT have a gambling problem.&amp;#160;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wanna bet? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://www.tmz.com/category/tmzsports\"&gt;&lt;img alt=\"for-more_footer_graphic\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2014/02/28/for-more-footer-graphic-1.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.tmz.com/2014/03/08/antonio-tarver-gambling-debtor-casino-mgm-bellagio/?adid=sidebarwidget_tv_clips>