Tuesday, August 21, 2012

So head on down to the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, win big, then get sued for it

Yes gambling fans of all ages, you read that right. Go on down to the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, sit yourself down at the baccarat table and start winning. Just know when you are done winning the casino will sue you for your winnings because they are not vigilant.

The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City gets their cards from Gemaco, Inc., a Missouri company. These cards are supposed to come shuffled. First rule in gambling with cards if you're the house, shuffle those cards before dealing. But the cards coming out of the packs weren't shuffled. They were all coming out of the packs in the exact same order the pack before came out in. Before too long serious gamblers are going to notice this. The bets increased. And increased. Soon so did the winnings. So perplexed were the casino big wigs that they sent people down to the floor to investigate how so many people were winning:

The Golden Nugget said it flooded the area with floor persons, managers, supervisors, surveillance and security officers, believing they were watching “a sophisticated swindling and cheating scheme” in progress.

They found none so gamblers playing baccarat kept winning. 14 players racked up $1.5 million in winnings. They broke no laws nor did they cheat. They merely used what was put before them in the Golden Nugget's property. It is the Golden Nugget's job to check the cards, not the gamblers.

But sadly that is not how Golden Nugget sees this, because of Gemaco Inc.'s stupidity they don't feel they should pay out their obligations to the winners. Golden Nugget's position from the AP:

But in a lawsuit filed against the 14 gamblers in July, that is exactly what the casino seeks, citing state gambling regulations requiring all casino games to offer fair odds — to both sides. The casino’s lawsuit asserts the gamblers and the casino both began the game believing it was legal and proper — until the players kept winning over and over again.

So you'd think Golden Nugget had proof they were cheating or certainly they would have paid out by now right? Wrong:

“From the beginning to the end of play, however, plaintiff could not identify any particular act of those players that actually constituted swindling and cheating,”

People, why would anyone go to Atlantic City and gamble at this place? They don't seem to think when you win you are due your winnings. Stop with the platitudes about the cards weren't shuffled so it wasn't a fair game. Who has the responsibility to ensure the games are on the up and up? Who signs the lease knowing they have gaming commission rules to follow? Golden Nugget that's who. We'd simply steer clear of this place until they realize unless you catch someone cheating you pay your debts. The only cheater here was ineptitude.

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