LAS VEGAS – Stephen Paddock is known to be a nighttime person who gambled all night and slept all day.
He had a doctor who prescribed to take Valium for anxiousness, sometimes.
He gambled up to a million dollars a night. Surprisingly, he was wandering around fancy Las Vegas casinos in flip-flops, and sweatpants and carried his own drink into the high rollers’ area because he did not want to tip the waitresses too much.
Note: Stephen Paddock was the gunmen who started a shot on the people during a concert in Las Vegas, killing at least 59 people. It was the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
Paddock was deposed October 29, 2013, as part of a civil lawsuit against the Cosmopolitan Hotel, where he slipped and fell on a walkway in 2011.
What otherwise would have been a mundane proceeding offers fresh details about Paddock’s life and habits — for the first time — from the killer’s own mouth. The document has been turned over to the FBI, according to sources.
About Paddocks Doctor
He said he was prescribed Valium “for anxiousness” by Nevada internist Steven P. Winkler. It was unclear how often he took the drug, but he estimated that he had 10 or 15 pills remaining in a bottle of 60 that were prescribed a year and a half earlier.
Paddock’s testimony offers little insight into what could have motivated last week’s attack. He said that Paddock had no mental health issues. Also, there is no history of any addiction and no criminal record of him.
Aggressiveness and irritability are among the possible side effects that can happen by taking the Valium, according to a manufacturer of the drug. It is not known when Paddock last took the drug.
Paddock was asked whether he had a good relationship with the doctor who prescribed him the pills.
“He is on retainer, I call it, I guess,” Paddock said of Winkler. “It means I pay a fee yearly … I have good access to him.”
Winkler did not respond to an email or phone call seeking comment for this story. Reporters were turned away by a security guard after seeking access to the gated community where he lives.
In the deposition, Paddock said he had hidden weapons license in Texas, but, other than that, there was no discussion of guns.
Paddock About Himself
He was “raised mostly in California,” attending high school in the Sun Valley section of Los Angeles and college at what would become Cal State Northridge. He worked for a time as an IRS agent.
Paddock did not detail the initial source of his wealth. He at times came off as arrogant and sarcastic during the deposition.
He described himself as being the “biggest video poker player in the world.”
“How do I know that?” Paddock asked rhetorically. “Because I know some of the video poker players that play big. Nobody played as much and as long as I did.”
At the height of his play in 2006, he testified, “I averaged 14 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
“I will gamble all night,” he said. “I sleep during the day.”
Paddock replied, “I do not do sun,” when asked if he ever visited the hotel pool.
Paddock said he rarely drank alcohol when he gambled, because “at the stakes I play, you want to have all your wits about you, or as much wit as I have.”
“Each time I push the button, it will range from $100 to $1,350,” he said.
A lawyer asked how much he could end up betting on a given night.
“A million dollars,” Paddock replied.
“That is a lot of money,” the lawyer said.
“No, it is not,” Paddock said.