Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) to lose badly, esp. in business, sport or gambling.

1981

N.Y. Times Mag. 21 June 24: ‘You must be excited about the Sinatra album.’ Wexler said, ‘Would you like to go to the baths with me on it?’ ‘The baths? ...I keep hearing it’ll sell a half-million records.’ ‘The Messiah will have to come before we’ll sell 50,000,’ Wexler said.

to lose or suffer badly, esp. in business, sport or gambling.

1935		Indiana Eve. Gazette 20 Mar. 9/2: When a concern ‘takes a bath’ it undergoes bankruptcy proceedings.
1944		D. Runyon Runyon à la Carte 205: He settles the next night before we start playing, but he takes a good bath this time.
1951		Green & Laurie Show Biz from Vaude to Video 572: Took a bath – went into bankruptcy.
1961		J. Scarne Complete Guide to Gambling.
1973		G.V. Higgins Digger’s Game (1981) 11: You guys did take a bath out there.
1989		J. Morton Lowspeak.
1992		G.P. Pelecanos Firing Offense 18: ‘Tell the fellas not to match that price, hear? If we have to take a bath, we can wait till Black Friday’.
2002		C. Stella Jimmy Bench-Press 2: He got himelf a Puerto Rican girlfriend, invested in her restaurant [...] after which he took a bath for his trouble.
2012		(con. 1943) G.S. Manson Irish Fandango [ebook] Mollinson [i.e. a bookmaker] had [...] taken a bath. He had no readies.