A New Jersey casino has sued a group of gamblers who won $1.5 million after they allegedly realized the eight decks of cards used in a game of mini baccarat were not pre-shuffled.
As the same sequence of cards kept appearing, the players increased their bets from $10 to $5,000, the casino alleged. "The gamblers unlawfully took advantage of the Golden Nugget when they caught onto the pattern and by passing money to fellow gamblers in order to place bets in excess of posted betting limits," the casino said in a statement.
In a lawsuit filed in New Jersey Superior Court, the casino cited gambling regulations that state gaming odds must be fair for both sides. The Golden Nugget is seeking a return of the $558,900 it paid out to several of the players and the nearly $1 million worth of chips.
The attorney for the gamblers, said his clients, who did not know each other, were "playing the game lawfully."
After paying out a portion of the winnings, the casino managers became suspicious. Convinced they were watching a "sophisticated swindling and cheating scheme," they refused to cash in the remaining $1 million in chips.
Three of the gamblers filed a countersuit against the casino alleging they were discriminated against because of their Chinese heritage. "All of the players were Asian and none of their chips were honoured. In New Jersey, a chip is evidence of a debt."
The Casino said in a statement they would never discriminate against anyone, including the Asian community. In fact, the Golden Nugget designed and built an Asian gaming area and restaurant to specifically attract Asian guests to the casino.
If cards were un-shuffled before the start of a game, who is to blame? The Gambler or the Casino. All Games have rules and code of conduct even betting in a Casino!!!!!!
