Joe Francis, creator of the Girls Gone Wild series, is facing new legal problems this week, stemming from an alleged unpaid debt. The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that the Wynn Las Vegas has sued Francis for $2 million in unpaid gambling debt. The casino is claiming Francis’ debt dates back to February of last year.

A spokesman for Francis told the paper, “As far as Francis is concerned, his obligations to the Wynn hotel have been fully lived up to per prior agreements.”

Calls made by XFANZ to the Wynn and representatives for Francis went unanswered at time of post.

Francis and his companies Mantra Films Inc. and Sands Media Inc.were indicted on two counts of tax evasion by a federal grand jury in April 2007. The government also claims that Francis used offshore accounts to conceal income, and the companies claimed more than $20 million in phony deductions.

A separate $10 million lawsuit filed in May against Francis, his company and a man allegedly involved in the creation of two websites, contends that Ashley Dupre, now known as the call girl linked to the downfall of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was underage at the time she signed a contract with the company.

Francis' upcoming trial on tax evasion charges, initially set for Aug. 26 in Reno, will be held in Los Angeles on a later date.

Never mind that, it's the casino I'd worry about. The bad old days of unpleasant criminal types running Las Vegas casinos are long gone, but casinos are still practically a license to print money, and a Las Vegas casino — even a little one, never mind one with two multi-story buildings on the Strip — can outlast, outspend and outlawyer pretty much anybody.