New Jersey Regulators Deal Blow To Golden Nugget Casino In Case Of Unshuffled CardsDivision Of Gaming Enforcement: Casino Could Have Stopped Game |
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New Jersey regulators have sided with a group of gamblers who claim they were wronged by the Golden Nugget after they took the house for $1.5 million thanks to noticing that a deck of cards was unshuffled. The casino disputed the winnings and a court battled has ensued.
It’s been pretty bitter.
According to the Associated Press, the gaming regulators said this week that the game in question, which took place in 2012, did not violate and laws or rules in the Garden State.
“The Division has determined that the game offered by Golden Nugget on April 30, 2012 at table MB-802 was a legal and valid game under the New Jersey Casino Control Act,” the division wrote in its letter to lawyers for some of the plaintiffs. “There is absolutely no evidence that the players or casino personnel involved in the game were involved in any sort of collusion, cheating or manipulation to affect the results of the game.
“Golden Nugget management was actively watching the game, either through reports from personnel or surveillance, and was not able to discover any obvious issues regarding the integrity of game play. On this issue, Golden Nugget had the authority to cease play at any time, and could have introduced a new deck of cards at any time, but elected to let play continue.”
Scathing remarks from New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.
According to the AP, a lawyer for some of the gamblers believes that the regulators’ letter helps his clients’ case, including a consumer fraud claim. “They were invited and enticed into the casino to gamble, and when they won, the casino refused to pay them,” he said.
The casino said that it disagrees with the regulators’ opinion, but that it doesn’t matter because it has no binding authority. The courts should decide the matter, the company said.
In late July, a judge in New Jersey granted a motion to reconsider a June decision that sided with the Golden Nugget over the gamblers. The casino at one time offered to pay the $1.5 million to the gamblers, but some refused the settlement because they have accused the casino of other misconduct, including illegal detention and racial discrimination.
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