NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Melanie McGuire's husband was a middle-class suburbanite struggling to buy his first home, but at the card tables of one Atlantic City casino, he gambled and won like a high roller, an employee of the casino testified Monday at the nurse's murder trial.

The witness, a supervisor at the Trump Taj Mahal, said records show that in 2003, the year before his slaying, William McGuire converted $97,000 into playing chips and came away with a profit of $30,000, a windfall almost equal to half his salary as a computer analyst. (VIDEO)

Leon Sarao, a member of the casino's player rating team, said McGuire's average bet that year was $293, 10 times the Taj Mahal average.

The gambling habits of the 39-year-old have emerged as an issue at the month-old trial of his wife, a fertility clinic nurse. Her lawyers have implied that he gambled recklessly and may have been shot to death because he owed money to unsavory characters.

Called to the stand by the prosecution, Sarao reviewed for jurors records based on the victim's use of a loyalty card that allows patrons to earn complimentary services, such as free drinks and hotel rooms. He said card records indicate McGuire made a dozen trips to Atlantic City in 2003, staying for as long as three days at a time and gambling for 53 total hours. In 2004, the year of his death, he only went once. On that trip, the month before he was last seen alive, he lost $4,100.

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That loss coincided with his attempts to scrape together enough cash to buy a half-million-dollar home. His business partner has testified that he was short $10,000 and had to borrow from their consulting business.

Although prosecutors contend William McGuire was killed in his home in the central New Jersey town of Woodbridge, much of the testimony has concerned the seaside gambling Mecca 100 miles to the south. The victim's car surfaced in a hotel parking lot there in May 2004, about the time three suitcases bearing his remains washed ashore in the Chesapeake Bay.

Melanie McGuire, 34, claims that her husband of five years left her and their two sons after a violent fight. She told friends that she drove to Atlantic City the next day in search of him, but was only able to locate his sedan, which she moved to the hotel as a prank.

William McGuire

Under questioning by a prosecutor, Sarao said there is no record of William McGuire at the Taj Mahal between April 29, 2004, when the fight allegedly occurred, and May 5, when the first suitcase was found.

"My records indicate he was not at our casino between those dates," Sarao said.

Asked if McGuire had accumulated enough credit to be comped a room if he had asked for one, Sarao replied, "Yes, most certainly."

On cross-examination, he acknowledged that his records may not reflect all of the victim's gambling activities. He said McGuire might have gone to other casinos in the city or gambled without using his comp card.

"If someone is not being rated, their gaming activity isn't being recorded," defense attorney Stephen Turano said.

The witness agreed. He said that, even when players produced their cards, supervisors could become distracted or miss some bets, but that usually happened with small-stakes players. Those monitoring large bets, like the ones McGuire made, were 95 percent accurate, Sarao said.