Man sues casino after losing $500,000

[PNEFOREVER2]

Just seen this on BBCNews, claims he's not too bothered about losing the money as he can afford it, however he was drunk at the time and the casino continued to serve him his alcoholic beverages.

Personally I think it's his own fault, nobody forces alcohol down your throat.

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[Tirilej]

Not just a gambler but an alcoholic too

No ''normal'' human being can drink that much and still be able to stand up. I don't know the English word for it but for many alcoholics you can't even tell they have been drinking, and they behave pretty normal anyway.
I would never feel sorry for him.

 

[Dinahnana]

He has a point though. Casinos should not let people who are very intoxicated gamble. In fact according to the article there are guidelines in place to prevent this and if what he is saying is correct then the casino violated those. He should have been more responsible himself and drink less I agree but having said that after drinking to the point you are drunk judgement can go out the window. I have been there in my younger years where I drank far more than I intended to and ended up with killer hangovers. So I think the blame here lies both with the player and the casino.

 

[spoton]

Eventhough it's each persons own responsibility not to drink that much one loses controll, we around at least have a moral responsibility to minize the damages when someone do. You don't lend a drunk person your car so he can drive home, or ask a drunk guy for a ride.

If the casino has speculated in getting people drunk to gamble more then maybe they deserve a little punishment. However I'm not to sure that the guy who blew his funds should get it.

 

[albrco123]

Definitely both parties at fault here, IMHO he guy should be made to pay the $500,000 and the Casino should be made to donate it to Charity!

Al

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

It's a bit like when people come here after losing thousands saying "I have a problem with gambling - why didn't they bar me from the casino?", they know fine well had they won they wouldn't be posting about it.

Same with this guy, had he won the worst part of his following day would have been his stonking hangover - eased slightly by the fact he had a nice win.

And we would never have heard about the casino "plying him with drinks"....

 

[syntynyt]

i rarely drink alcohol, but when i doing im under table at 4 beers only once played in one cafebar totally drunk with some friends but had few amount of money to burn so no bad experiences. but playing with a big pocket means:
- you don't know anymore real value of the money
- you have big courage, ready to jump off the plane and to max-bet the slot
- you may end producing damage to slots
so in a no-no situation for me

offtopic watch this beauty quiet old men

 

[Simmo!]

Thing is though, if he wins this case, everyone here who likes to have a drink while they are playing is going to find that much tougher in future. It's another case of our freedom to choose how we spend our time being curtailed because of the possibility of litigation. IMO he has to take responsibility for his actions - that's part of being a responsible adult.

 

[Googobucs]

I read about this yesterday. people like this piss me off. It's always somebody else's fault that they Drink, smoke, gamble, eat.......too excess. Take some responsibility for your own self jerk. I am willing to bet he was drunk ass stupid and his friends tried to get him to leave but he is one of those drunks that turns into a complete ass and his friends gave up on him because that's how he is.
That's why he is playing down town at the small casino. They probably banned him from all the good ones already.

 

[Dinahnana]

It's a bit like when people come here after losing thousands saying "I have a problem with gambling - why didn't they bar me from the casino?", they know fine well had they won they wouldn't be posting about it.

Same with this guy, had he won the worst part of his following day would have been his stonking hangover - eased slightly by the fact he had a nice win.

And we would never have heard about the casino "plying him with drinks"....

That is fine well and good but when you are at home it is different circumstances. Firstly you have to buy your own drinks So if you drink to much you cannot blame the casino, I do think comparing B&M casinos with online casinos is like trying to compare apples and oranges. I am not sure about B&M casinos allow you to set limits for yourself before you start to gamble like most reputable online casinos. So if a player has their limits set up on the online casino and gets really drunk he should not be able to go over his preset limit.
Also this guy was on vacation and we all know that people tend to relax a bit more and possibly imbibe more while on vacation something they may not do under normal circumstances.
Any casino manager should not be extending credit to somebody who is obviously drunk, that was very irresponsible behavior IMO. I think the casino should be investigated and fined so that they stick to the regulations set out in future. I think maybe he should have to pay some of the tab but not all. The casino should have to suck up some of the costs also. Finally if they get fined then the money should go to a gambling problem charity of some kind.

 

[The Dude]

I'm wondering if this guy had woken up after his binge and realized he had won $500k; would he have brought it back to the casino and said, "Sorry, I was drinking and shouldn't have been playing. You can have your money back."? I think not.

He can't own up to his own problems, and other people have to suffer for it.

 

[chayton]

If the casino had stopped serving him or had told him he couldn't gamble anymore he would probably tried to sue them for that too.

 

[rockycatt]

Well for 500,000.00 he may just be following his financial advisers direction's

 

[Dinahnana]

I'm wondering if this guy had woken up after his binge and realized he had won $500k; would he have brought it back to the casino and said, "Sorry, I was drinking and shouldn't have been playing. You can have your money back."? I think not.

He can't own up to his own problems, and other people have to suffer for it.

Fair point and your right. But when he was down they gave him credit which they should not have in this situation. I would hope though that the casino be fined for not following regulations. If you get really drunk in most bars the bartender will cut you off, in this situation not only did the casino continue to give him drinks they continued to extend him credit which is madness. At the end of the day I really don't care if this guy gets his debt cleared or not, I would be happy for the casino to take the regulations more seriously in the future so this does not happen again.

I totally agree that the guy is responsible for his actions, God knows I have gambled more when I was drunk and lost a few bankrolls (online casinos) and I woke up next morning kicking myself and did not blame the casino. I take issue with the casino extending a large amount of credit to a guy who was hammered which should not happen in my opinion.

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

If you get really drunk in most bars the bartender will cut you off, in this situation not only did the casino continue to give him drinks they continued to extend him credit which is madness.

Fact is, as someone alluded to earlier, a lot of people can hold a lot of drink and thus appear to be quite sober, lets not forget this guy is an alcoholic, so his tolerance levels to alcohol will be quite high.

Another fact is, it was his choice to go out drinking, it was also his choice of venue - the casino. Would be harsh on the casino to lay the blame at their door for choices his should be held responsible for imo.

 

[Balthazar]

we around at least have a moral responsibility to minize the damages when someone do.

Your responsibility to take care of yourself and assuming the consequences of your own actions far, FAR exceeds the "moral responsibility" that total strangers might have towards you. You can't put the blame on others for not stopping you from hurting yourself, that's a total nonsense.

 

[suzecat]

It is possible to drink to excess -- blackout stage -- and appear totally functioning. Whomever served him the alcohol should have known he was drunk just by the amount of booze he had consumed. JMO neither party should benefit from this fiasco.

 

[Dinahnana]

Fact is, as someone alluded to earlier, a lot of people can hold a lot of drink and thus appear to be quite sober, lets not forget this guy is an alcoholic, so his tolerance levels to alcohol will be quite high.

Another fact is, it was his choice to go out drinking, it was also his choice of venue - the casino. Would be harsh on the casino to lay the blame at their door for choices his should be held responsible for imo.

According to him he did not appear sober at all, he kept dropping his chips and slurring his speech etc. We are assuming he is an alcoholic because he drank so much but nowhere in the article does it state that. It fact it states that with the medication he is on increased the effects of alcohol. I am not condoning his behavior as it was irresponsible and he should know better. I guess the CCTV at the casino will prove his case or not. If he appears drunk on the CCTV then according to the Nevada Gaming Regulations the casino should have stopped him from betting. I doubt he would be bringing the lawsuit if there is no proof to back it up. There is CCTV all over the casinos in Vegas. Maybe he should not be suing but he is within his rights to file a complaint with the Nevada Gaming Board to have the casino sanctioned.

BTW I don't feel sorry for the guy at all he can afford the loss and hopefully for him it will be lesson learnt but the same goes for the casino.

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

It fact it states that with the medication he is on increased the effects of alcohol. I am not condoning his behavior as it was irresponsible and he should know better.

Even more irresponsible, most medications you are told not to drink alcohol after taking, and he's complaining he shouldn't pay because his judgement was affected only by alcohol?

It might not say anything about him being an alcoholic, but the majority of people would adhere to the guidelines of medication - ie do not drink alcohol.

If he can't refrain from alcohol whilst on medication, then it would in fact appear he has a problem with alcohol. Either that or he can't read.

 

[ChillBill]

It's a bit like when people come here after losing thousands saying "I have a problem with gambling - why didn't they bar me from the casino?"

I can't recall an online casino ever serving me a drink through my PCi slot
While I agree adults should be held accountable for their actions, the casino's disregard for responsible service of alcohol, leaves a lot to be desired in this matter.

It's not the 1'st time a high roller has been plastered courtesy of a casino and has spent way too much money. This sh#t happens on a regular basis at numerous land based casinos worldwide. I'm sure in the eyes of the casino, they see it as looking after their VIP highrollers. A better choice; a responsible choice on the part of the casino in question, would have been to not serve this guy any more booze and to drive him home in the casino limo instead.

It's the same reason why, after day surgery, you wont get discharged to go home alone. Why? Because you judgement isn't 100% ok.

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

I can't recall an online casino ever serving me a drink through my PCi slot

You know what I meant

I agree with the rest of your post though to a point, I guess the only solution would be casinos stopping selling alcohol - spoiling it for the majority that take a loss on the chin instead of throwing their toys out their pram.

 

[ChillBill]

I'm wondering if this guy had woken up after his binge and realized he had won $500k; would he have brought it back to the casino and said, "Sorry, I was drinking and shouldn't have been playing. You can have your money back."? I think not.

Agree it's a highly likely scenario but it's still a hypothetical

The casino has a liqueur license and under those guidelines, they'd also have responsible serving rules. In this case, the casino breached its responsible serving of alcohol. No-one forced the casino to get this guy shit-faced but its fairly obvious why they did!

Be interesting to see the outcome of this.
Though more than likely the casino will settle, before it goes to court. I'm guessing they wouldn't want to lose their liqueur license, seems like profitable tool

 

[ChillBill]

I guess the only solution would be casinos stopping selling alcohol - spoiling it for the majority that take a loss on the chin instead of throwing their toys out their pram.

Now that's just being silly...

IF the casino didn't keep giving this guy drinks, to the point, where he was shit-faced. Instead the casino had acted responsibly (or if you prefer accountable), The casino wouldn't be caught up in this fiasco because, it would have acted responsibly and not served this guy way too much booze!

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

Now that's just being silly...

IF the casino didn't keep giving this guy drinks, to the point, where he was shit-faced. Instead the casino had acted responsibly (or if you prefer accountable), The casino wouldn't be caught up in this fiasco because, it would have acted responsibly and not served this guy way too much booze!

It's all about knowing your limits in my opinion, here in the uk, I have never come across a pub that hasn't served me because I'm too drunk.

That's not because I cannot drink nor I haven't been smashed beyond belief in my early teens, however if I throw up outside, I'm unlikely to have the pub manager hold my hand and tell me all will be ok. If I clobber some poor unsuspecting chap whilst off my face, again it's all down to me, those are my actions.

I chose to drink, the actions that follow are that of my own - whether it be an appearance in court the next morning, or losing a huge amount of money.

Doesn't Las Vegas have any drinking establishments that don't have facilities that could potentially lose you thousands or are casinos the only option?

Sorry but it's all too convenient, shall I drink at home? No. Shall I go to a regular bar? No. Tell you what, I'll go to this land based casino and try my luck, if things go bad I'll just claim I was pissed!

Come on!

 

[Googobucs]

There are 2 sides to every story and we only know 1. The guy says he was severed 20 drinks during 17 hours of gambling. I'm a light weight and that would not make me stupid drunk. I think he is a lying piece of crap who is trying to get out of this debt and is using his money and attorneys to smear the good name of this casino in the media.
The eye in the sky does not lie, so I guess we will know soon enough.

 

[winbig]

Casinos are less likely to "cut someone off" than a bar would. A bar would be held liable for someone drinking too much then going out and driving, killing someone in the process. Why should a casino not be held liable for their actions as well?

 

[AC7X]

There are 2 sides to every story and we only know 1. The guy says he was severed 20 drinks during 17 hours of gambling. I'm a light weight and that would not make me stupid drunk. I think he is a lying piece of crap who is trying to get out of this debt and is using his money and attorneys to smear the good name of this casino in the media.
The eye in the sky does not lie, so I guess we will know soon enough.

I know 20 drinks over 17 hours = less than one drink per hour and doesn't sound like a lot, but factor in the exhaustion element and you could be extremely intoxicated in those circumstances. I can handle my drink fairly well, but if I've not slept for 24 hours a couple of beers is enough to do it.

I think until we know the outcome of the investigation it's all speculation at this stage, the nitty gritty details do make a difference in this situation. I think it's safe to say that blame lies with both parties; he shouldn't have put himself in that vulnerable situation, but equally the casino does have social responsibilities which are outlined in law, and they failed to meet them.

Just my 2p.

 

[rshkrn]

Don't you need to to "sign" in order to get that kind of credit?? And he seemed to get a few additional credit lines with the last one for 250K, when he was totally out of control....just wondering what kind of person can sign correctly being that drunk?

IMO the casino should have just refused him the credit if he was that drunk....that would have automatically capped the betting.....they could've kept on pouring tho....

 

[chuchu59]

He played paigow which involves setting of tiles and should he have been intoxicated to such an extent that he couldn't even set the tiles properly then he does have a case. There should have been videos on his play.

 

[Igor82]

I'm wondering if this guy had woken up after his binge and realized he had won $500k; would he have brought it back to the casino and said, "Sorry, I was drinking and shouldn't have been playing. You can have your money back."? I think not.

He can't own up to his own problems, and other people have to suffer for it.

If i read the article correctly, we was too drunk to stand up and the casino kept serving him drinks. The law states that the casinos must stop a player from further gambling when he shows clear signs of inebriation. If it is true that he was dropping chips all over the place and wasn't able to read his cards right (and that's a big if which will show from security tapes), then the casino will face a very difficult case to justify those losses and win the money back as they were in breach of regulation.

In fact, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is now investigating the Downtown Grand, formerly the Lady Luck Casino, on whether it violated gaming regulations, said Karl Bennison, chief of the board's enforcement division.
Those regulations prohibit casinos from "permitting persons who are visibly intoxicated to participate in gaming activity" and from providing "complimentary service of intoxicating beverages in the casino area to persons who are visibly intoxicated."
"We are investigating this thoroughly," Bennison said. "We are aware of this matter. We'll see if there are regulation violations."

If truly he was so red-nosed he couldn't sit upright properly this wasn't a case of owning up to your losses; and it would be doubtful that if in such a state there ever was a potential outcome of him coming out "on top", playing blackjack which does take some sanity and skill.

To add insult to injury, he didn't deposit the money - they gave him a half a million credit line, which make the whole durnk-or-not situation much worse from the casino side IMO.

It's sounds like a case of another sore lose, but it may not be as clear cut as it appears if it does come to light he was indeed sloshed.

 

[Tirilej]

Since everything is recorded from these casinos, then they all maybe can go through their tapes every night.
If they see someone that have managed to play and win even though they were more drunk then they should have been allowed to be, they can sue them to get the winnings back.
They do have the proof needed

 

[AC7X]

Since everything is recorded from these casinos, then they all maybe can go through their tapes every night.
If they see someone that have managed to play and win even though they were more drunk then they should have been allowed to be, they can sue them to get the winnings back.
They do have the proof needed

But that regulation isn't for the player, it's for the casino.

EDIT TO CLARIFY: It's the casino's responsibility to ensure that players don't play whilst intoxicated, and if they fail to do so then the player has some recourse (or so it would seem, we'll find out at the end of this court case). If the casino fails to meet this requirement, and the player wins, they can't blame the player. But if the casino fails to meet the requirement, and the player loses, then they can (to some extent) blame the casino.

 

[Igor82]

Since everything is recorded from these casinos, then they all maybe can go through their tapes every night.
If they see someone that have managed to play and win even though they were more drunk then they should have been allowed to be, they can sue them to get the winnings back.
They do have the proof needed

The game of choice plays a big part. Drunk guy chucking all on 17 has exactly the same outcome as a straight guy doing it. Ball spins and it either lands on 17 or not. In that case, sanity is only relevant to a decision to stake a wager and the rest is up to Lady Luck (pun only semi-indented lol).

A drunk guy having to manoeuvre tiles, or having to make a decision of "stand or hit" means that the player must have some sanity which not only influences whether he makes a wager or not and it's size, but also influences whether he has sufficient wit about him to make the choices that control the outcome to his best interest.

Playing BJ & Pai drunk is a whole different kettle of fish than spinning slots drunk. Games of skill (or semi-skill) need even more stringent regulations than pure luck outcome games.

 

[Tirilej]

I hope you both know that I was just being ironic

No matter the outcome all landbased casinos will maybe be a bit more careful in the future, and if so then it happened for a good reason anyway.

I've never been to a real casino so I know nothing about how they works. One day maybe

 

[winbig]

Don't you need to to "sign" in order to get that kind of credit?? And he seemed to get a few additional credit lines with the last one for 250K, when he was totally out of control....just wondering what kind of person can sign correctly being that drunk?

IMO the casino should have just refused him the credit if he was that drunk....that would have automatically capped the betting.....they could've kept on pouring tho....

There's actually been cases in atlantic city regarding this same thing. There's been casinos that's sued gamblers because they claim they were fed drinks all night long and never cut off.

The final ruling was that, while the casino didn't get all of the money coming to them, the money they gave out via credit when the gambler was severely intoxicated was denied. Why? They were of "sound mind" to enter into a binding, legal, contract.

edit: lol, didn't realize this post was so old. I just found this information out last week and it pertains to the thread, so.....

 

[TheAddict]

i woke up one morning with a stinking hellfire hangover after visiting grosvenor for a 50 player poker tournament the night before. .
Waking up, and after about a minute of groaning i had a flashback of blackjack (i know the basics but no more). My heart started beating as i thought oh shit i won on that poker tourney, but i do not recall sitting down at a blackjack table. I have sat down at them a couple of times, but i'd be on the £1 min bet tables due to not being rich and not being great at the game.
Later found out from my friend who came that i'd sat down alone at a £5 min bet table and was so drunk i was taking an age between hands, dropping chips, putting my nose through the cards so i could get a good view of the numbers on them (luckily no-one else was on the table for me to annoy) and aparantly it was pissing the female dealer off quite visibly, so she must of known how badly drunk i was. I'd sat there for nearing an hour apparantly, so god knows how i managed to only lose £10, being the only player vs the dealer the whole time.

i'm usualy good at bankroll management, making ok out of the land based fruities over the years, doing well in Texas NLH, and never touching casino/bookies type fobts let alone a card game i'm not experienced in for anything more than £1 a hand. i have a feeling i only sat down at that table because the woman was buff, and if it was just because i wanted a gamble and had lost it all i would of just blamed myself. but after reading this i would like to sue grosvenor for a tenner. If a rep is reading this, Free chip with no wagering will do.

 

[Casino2014man]

Did the guy win the case?

Tried looking online, could not see anything!

Drinking and gambling for me always ends one way..

 

[Batman]

Did the guy win the case?

Tried looking online, could not see anything!

Drinking and gambling for me always ends one way..

You're not the only one...

 

[winbig]

Still under investigation....

but....

Meanwhile, Johnston was slapped with criminal charges for taking those loans from the casino and being unable to pay them back. His attorney said Tuesday they're trying to get those charges dismissed. "They're using them to try and extort me and scare me. I'm not scared," Johnston said.

If he was legally intoxicated when he signed the documents to get a line of credit (I'm assuming more than once,) the casino has no case. As I mentioned in my previous post, you can't enter into a legally binding agreement if you're in that state of mind...

Playing devil's advocate, here....Say he won....he wouldn't be complaining one bit...lol

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