14 gamblers who won?$1.5 million playing mini-baccarat at the Golden Nugget Atlantic City in 2012 were ordered ?in February to repay any winnings they had collected. The 14 gamblers were able to take down the house?due to unshuffled cards and want a judge to allow them to keep the cash, instead of having to pay back the winnings, saying they are not at fault.?The players upped their stakes from $10 a hand up to?as high as?$5,000 when they realized what was going on and won as many as 41 hands in a row.
The players were initially paid $500,000 of the money but refused to drop charges against the casino including illegal detention. $1,000,000 in chips is still outstanding.
In a court filing, the gamblers stated that by ordering customers to pay back the prize money paid out by the casino, almost three years after the incident took place, is sending an incredible conditional message the public. The gamblers are claiming this sets a precedent that ‘a win isn’t necessarily a win’ and casinos will be going after players that earn a win and who are not at fault, when the casino or the agents of the casino are to blame.
The lawyer representing the Golden Nugget’s parent company Landry’s Inc, Steve Scheinthal, stated that the judge was right to rule that the players must repay the winnings. Scheinthal stated that the law was considered by the judge in this case and the decision was correct, with no reason for the judge to change her mind about repayment.