Jury awards Grosjean $400K for backrooming

Nice to see. Maybe some of the other pending cases will be settled favorably for the victims.

I once got backroomed in 1 of the major casinos in Western Canada 3 years ago. Got harrassed by the cops. Seriously considerin' filing a lawsuit & getting my rights back...

the $5,000 in my wallet were gone. Probably the house thought that it was $ "stolen" from them by "cheating" & they had it confiscated...

Ruling may affect casino policies on advantage gamblers

By Alana Roberts / Staff Writer

Now that a Clark County District Court jury has awarded advantage gambler James Grosjean $400,000 in a false imprisonment case against the Imperial Palace, his attorney Bob Nersesian said casinos are beginning to revise some of their policies for dealing with advantage gamblers.
Nersesian said gaming regulators have historically turned a blind eye to the actions of casino security officials against advantage gamblers, some of whom have claimed they've been illegally imprisoned and others who've said they've been physically abused.
"Some of these cases have already changed substantially the way things (are handled)," Nersesian said.
Advantage gambling is when a person plays casino games when he or she has an edge over the casino. Card counting at blackjack is the most well-known type of advantage gambling, and is the focus of aggressive casino countermeasures. Card counting and other advantage gambling techniques are legal, an attorney for the Control Board said.
Nersesian said the fact that Clark County District Court Judge Lee Gates allowed the case to go before a jury was remarkable, because many similar cases are dismissed or decided by the judge.
"Judge Lee Gates did a great service to the state and citizens of the state by letting this get to the jury," Nersesian said. "A lot of them (cases) don't get to a jury."
Jackie Brett, an Imperial Palace spokeswoman, referred calls to the company's attorney, Owen Nitz, who could not be reached for comment.
Jennifer Carvalho, a Nevada deputy attorney general who represents the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the Imperial Palace case, said casinos should review their policies regarding the treatment of advantage gamblers to make sure they're legal, particularly in light of the recent decision.
"From a policy standpoint I think the casinos would be prudent to take this decision into consideration," Carvalho said.
Carvalho said it is legal for casino security officials to detain a patron they believe is cheating until Control Board agents arrive to determine if a crime has actually taken place.
"Generally speaking the statute provides a casino can detain anyone they believe has cheated in order to call the Gaming Control Board," Carvalho said. "Technically the agent would determine if there's probable cause to make an arrest. They determine if cheating is going on."
The lawsuit was filed in November 2001 against Imperial Palace, Caesars Palace and security company Griffin Investigations Inc. The case was later divided into two separate cases.
The Caesars Palace portion alleges Grosjean and Michael Russo were wrongfully accused of cheating and were improperly arrested on a separate occasion from the Imperial Palace incident. The Caesars Palace case is currently pending in Clark County District Court.
Gates dropped Control Board agents from both cases ruling they were immune from litigation. However, Nersesian appealed the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court, and the appeal is currently pending there.
Carvalho said it's often difficult for casino security officials to determine whether a player is cheating or legally gambling with an advantage.
"They're still going to look for cheaters, it puts them in a difficult situation," Carvalho said. "Looking for cheaters is difficult. They're (the player) placing bets that don't make sense. You know they're obtaining information, you don't know how. "
She said casinos generally have acted responsibly in dealing with advantage gamblers.
"We don't see casinos acting in bad faith, for the most part, when they are investigating people for crimes," Carvalho said. "With respect to advantage gamblers, on the cases we've seen if we thought they were acting in bad faith we would institute disciplinary action and we haven't."
Tony Cabot, a gaming lawyer with Lionel Sawyer & Collins, said the verdict in the Imperial Palace case is noteworthy because of the amount of the judgment but not because the case is unique.
"There's nothing unique about it," Cabot said. "It is a large judgment. I think what the case speaks to is the need to have and make sure your personnel are following procedures taught to them with regard to particular circumstances."
He said if officials are unsure of the legality of a player's actions, they should consult the casino's lawyers first before detaining someone.
Alana Roberts covers courts and labor relations for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached by e-mail at alanar@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4059.

Source:
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