Colorado Casino Sued After Card Counting ControversyBlackjack Player Alleges He Was Illegally Detained |
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A bit of card counting has turned into quite a conundrum for one Colorado casino. The Ameristar Casino in Black Hawk now faces some serious accusations after a Georgia man alleges that he was illegally detained for card counting at the blackjack tables.
Joseph Shiraef, 34, is suing the casino’s owner, Gaming and Leisure Properties, along with the city of Black Hawk, a city police officer, and an employee with the state’s Division of Gaming. He’s now seeking $3 million – $1.5 million in economic and compensatory damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages.
Details On The Allegations
On Oct. 19, 2021, Shiraef found himself on a long layover at the Denver International Airport. Instead of sitting around and waiting for his flight, he headed to the Ameristar for some blackjack in the nearby town of Black Hawk, about 45 minutes west of the airport.
Shiraef, who admits that he is a card counter, was playing for awhile and was actually down about $4,000 when he was approached by staff and asked for his ID. He refused, instead showing a wristband that proved his ID was already checked when he entered the property.
“They wanted my ID, I’m almost 100% certain, to share my information with other casinos – which, the legality of that is pretty much a gray area,” he told KDVR-TV.
He still had $1,800 in chips, which the casino refused to cash out without his ID. Rather than deal with the situation, Shiraef opted to just return later and instead head on to catch his flight.
While attempting to leave the property, however, Shiraef says he was physically blocked by staff members. An employee said he was being stopped for the “criminal violation of the Colorado fraud statute by counting cards.”
Card Counting Isn’t Illegal
Card counting is a strategy used in blackjack where a player mentally keeps track of the cards that have been shown, and varies their bet size depending on whether or not the “count” is advantageous to them.
The more big cards still left in the deck, the more profitable it is for the player. If there are a lot of smaller cards left, however, the dealer has the advantage. The practice is extremely difficult to master given how many decks are often used in a standard shoe, let alone being able to keep a count without arousing suspicion from security.
Counting cards isn’t illegal in Colorado, however. In fact it isn’t technically illegal anywhere, but property management has to right to quit taking a player’s action and ask them to leave.
When he was finally able to exit the casino, Shireaf says his car was then blocked by an SUV. An employee told him that counting cards was illegal and a warrant could be issued for his “fraudulent activity.”
Shireaf also alleges a Colorado Gaming Commission agent demanded to see his license. He argues that he didn’t break any law and shouldn’t have been detained, threatened with criminal charges, or have his chip cash out request rejected.
“I knew that it was wrong and I was just kind of in a state of shock at how ignorant that city officials were acting,” he said.
He was eventually allowed to leave, but the delay caused him to miss his flight.
The lawsuit argues that his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures were violated, and that the casino and Gaming and Leisure engaged in false imprisonment, negligent training, and refusing to cash in his chips.
The casino hasn’t commented on the lawsuit, but the city of Black Hawk and the police officer involved have filed a motion to dismiss the case. City officials also argue that the officer is protected by qualified immunity, which protects government officials from liability while on duty.
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