11 Famous Gambler vs Casino Court Battles

No matter how luck-based and random-number-generated the game results are, there are situations when the player’s fate is simply unfair and unjust. Thanks to the burning desire to make things work right, modern gamblers are happy to know that their rights can’t be violated that simply. Such disputes don’t typically lead to courts, but there are several cases that have resulted in high-profile experiences with winnings for players. Does the phrase “the house always wins” seem right to you? It appears to be one of the most standing-out logos in the market. However, as evidence proves, there are numerous situations when casinos aren’t the most favored party — more than half of the well-known legal cases involving such establishments and service recipients have benefited the needs of gamblers.

Of course, a lot depends on the case itself. These player vs casino conflicts are typically as unforeseeable as the results of playing rounds in land-based or online slots and other games. It is the right moment to find out more about such court battles. Keep on scrolling down to get intriguing details first!

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Image 11 Famous Gambler vs Casino Court Battles

Author:

Wesley Murphy

Published:

Cheryl Kater vs Big Fish Games

Although it isn’t the most typical sample of traditional gambling, social gaming is quite popular. This varietal doesn’t come completely for free, but players’ budgets can be extremely divergent and work for low rolling. In order to receive specific benefits or keep up with participating in further rounds, engaged members have to purchase chips after losses. No matter how simple and transparent this sounds, cases of unjust also take place.

Let’s get acquainted with Cheryl Kater from Washington, the USA, and how she once managed to prove that unlawful experiences were maintained by Big Fish Casino. According to the legal framework in 2015, that was the only state where playing for real money online will lead to penalties for both involved parties. That’s why she hoped that this disapproval of internet gambling would allow getting money back. Her initial attempt failed, but an appellate court in Seattle overturned the verdict on the basis that the website encompasses illicit activities within the state legislation because chips of the casino are value-added items.

Kate was able to return her initial investment, namely, one thousand US dollars, therefore. This case effectively helped pave the way. In turn, many more similar cases were filed and led to social gaming platforms’ losses.

Sheila King vs Multiple Las Vegas Casinos

Despite her experiences in gambling at small wagers, she once desired to try something new and start investing five hundred US dollars per spin. At Caesars Palace, a renowned casino in Las Vegas, Sheila was lucky to multiply her initial stake by five hundred times just in six spins. Before she received her original prize, she was lucky to get a payout in the sum of fifty thousand US dollars.

A short while afterward, King was awarded fifty thousand US dollars again. Without a doubt, it is one of the best victorious runs in slot gaming and gambling history overall. Over the following three years, her wagering strategy was high rolling, which enabled her to raise capital of mindblowing two hundred million US dollars. Despite this, the lady kept spinning and had fun utilizing the received cash over and over again.

This passion for gambling couldn’t help but be not left unnoticed. That’s why land-based slots started providing extra services to her and exceptional psychological comfort. Not only did she receive a car from the Mercedes-Benz line, but also she benefited from her beloved slot machines, installed by casinos genuinely for her. By 1993, her assets had shrunk to only five hundred thousand US dollars — only then Sheila began saying that service providers were interfering with gambling equipment, but she failed to prove it. Therefore, she had an agreement with the casino according to which they do not conduct technical sessions while she plays her favorite slots.

Bruno Venturi vs Eurobet

In 2009, the distinguished casino was especially popular for its lottery-style entertainment, and Bruno Venturi was definitely in. He managed to raise his gambling profile up to six hundred fifty thousand sterling pounds in just three hours of playing “Sixty Seconds”. Without a doubt, this was a significant chunk of money to receive. The problem was that the institutions claimed the payment couldn’t be attributable because of a technological malfunction. They stated that Venturi hadn’t paid for each wager he made, but just once in six trials. Considering he wagered almost six thousand times, winning nearly five thousand of them wasn’t charged at all. With the help of countless free stakes, the mister gradually increased his twenty sterling pounds to a breathtaking sum.

The defense attorney for Eurobet contended that the player must have realized that keeping on succeeding wasn’t right. However, Mr. Bruno argued there were no outward indications of a technical error, and he stopped playing only when he felt like it. According to the case results, service providers were fully responsible to ensure the premium quality of their equipment and that Venturi didn’t choose any schemes or illegal tactics to win.

Esports Gamblers vs. Valve

If you have never heard about Valve Corporation, its games will certainly not leave you indifferent — Dota 2, Portal, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and many other huge titles. Regardless of how bright their story is, it isn’t deprived of breaking-news situations. One of them happened back in 2016 when a gang of teens filed a lawsuit against this company because of engaging in unlawful gambling on their domain. CS:GO is famous for its Steam platform, where interested parties can get extra bonuses to level up, including gear and other loot. Among them, there are so-called skins, which nature resembles casino chips.

The illicit activity was represented by taking fifteen percent of the available in-game assets as earnings by the brand. Another ambiguous moment was that youngsters could proceed with any operations without difficulty since no age restriction was there. The plaintiffs supposed the illegal income is received through third-party domains. Considering the major part of CS:GO fans and users of Steam are underaged, it was another suspicious claim.

This case didn’t fall under legal framework conditions, which made several courts dismiss it. Although the effort of the team didn’t lead to the desired result, it definitely influenced the company’s reputation.

Safa Abdulla Al Geabury vs. Ritz Club

The distinguished institution is truly accustomed to hosting wealthy guests, so a two-million-pound spin from the millionaire wasn’t something surprising at all. This case with Mr. Safa was slightly different because of what events upheld afterward. He claimed that he spent the entire bankroll on roulettes and baccarat games because of his compulsive decisions and was manipulated by the establishment.

The person signed a few contracts, the content of which was quite misleading, — about self-exclusion from gambling there and solving the problem. Not only didn’t his arguments seem plausible to the court, but also it was stated that his total net worth had been about one billion sterling pounds at that moment. So the judge decided to support the casino. Mr. Safa kept on refusing to pay off his loan, which forwarded to a ten-month jail sentence.

James Grosjean vs. Imperial Palace and Griffin Investigations

This individual is acknowledged as one of the most professional experts in Blackjack, knowing what and when to do. He even published a few works, describing his experiences and what strategies will help fellow gamers to succeed. James also participated in online competitions and was so good that the provider asked him to quit.

But his career isn’t the only feature that draws a lot of attention to Grosjean — he triumphed in a significant legal battle against the Linq (former Imperial Palace) casino. The gamer alleged forcible confinement by the casino management before being officially expelled. The investigations took place and were organized by Griffin, but they favored the brand.

In turn, these two organizations were sued to pay for their unjust behavior and actions. The sum was almost six hundred thousand dollars from the gambling floor and twenty-five thousand dollars from the investigation officials. This scandal helped many players, especially considering the bankruptcy of Griffin and how they took advantage of lucky gamers in similar situations.

Pauline McKee vs Isle Casino Hotel

Pauline McKee vs Isle Casino Hotel Image

Just imagine how disappointing it is to hear that a huge sum you have just won won’t be paid out because of computer glitches. Pauline is another person who had to experience this on her own and had to fight to achieve forty-one million US dollars.

She wasn’t a regular gambler and just caught her lucky star. The problem was the sum on the screen was way too huge for the officially stated pool for Miss Kitty, namely ten thousand US dollars. She received ten credit dollars to keep up with gaming to find out that she had actually earned less than two dollars. This conclusion was made by the gambling commission in Iowa as well. Although the casino didn’t manage to organize the in-hall equipment and get rid of misleading machines, the results of the lawsuit didn’t favor the plaintiff.

Katrina Bookman vs Resorts World Casino (Genting)

Another computer malfunction case took place in 2016. After earning a life-altering jackpot, a wow sum of forty-three million US dollars, Katrina already started celebrations and was even pictured next to the cheque. However, she was absolutely devastated to know about a claimed mechanical issue by the casino’s representatives. They informed her about the actual prize of two dollars and even tried to please her by offering a steak meal.

Although the casino’s intentions didn’t seem fair at first, they were later proven by special authorities. According to the court and the New York State Gaming Commission, her real chances to succeed were close to zero.

Phil Ivey vs. Crockfords and the Borgata

It is like visiting an all-inclusive site — you will find so many unique experiences and achievements in his career. Phil Ivey won especially exquisite titles in the poker market and WSOP championships. Since he was a high roller, he was enabled to gain special benefits at the Borgata and Crockfords casinos. The key thing was that Phil and his partner Sun managed to take advantage of Chinese dealers and their knowledge of Gemaco decks’ issues to win more.

This helped the crew receive a mind-blowing sum — twenty million US dollars in both establishments in total in 2012. Borgata fulfilled its duty, while the other casino initiated a lawsuit against the players. The judge believed that extra requests from the team were too much and sided with both casinos, which helped Borgata get its money back.

Ken Uston vs Resorts International

This is a famous gambler and writer, who was especially active in the seventeenth of the twentieth century. He got acquainted with another diamond in the field, Al Francesco, and was invited to join his crew. The "Big Player" tactic that comprises folks calculating decks till eventually a beneficial count arrives is credited to him, by the way. To put it shortly, their paths were united for not so long.

Whatever the circumstances, Ken was a part of one of the most significant lawsuits in the industry. In Atlantic City, he also founded the card-counting crew and was pretty successful. After being discovered, they were barred from entering any land-based center for wagering. In 1979, he argued that being banned for simply playing good was nonsense.

Surprisingly for many, the case was won by the plaintiff. Everybody has the right to participate in gambling activities unless they are a source of any danger to the property, etc. However, this triumph wasn’t lasting — local casinos simply added more severe countermeasures to prevent card counters from doing what they are skilled at.

Behar Merlaku vs Casino Bregenz

Behar Merlaku vs Casino Bregenz Image

This story relates to another fan of slot machines. Mr. Behar took advantage of a flaw in the software to win a mammoth sum. It happened in Austria, and the man achieved a huge sum of forty million sterling pounds. If the glitch hadn’t taken place, it would have become the biggest pool received in the entire gambling history of slots.

Naturally, the player was unhappy to learn that the casino’s officials decided to ignore this result. They explained it with a computer problem and rejected to proceed with the payout. In turn, the plaintiff sued the organization and sought five million for the inconvenience caused. Another reason for that compensation was because that situation put too much pressure on the family and led to a cleft palate problem for his newborn child.

Although the full sum wasn’t paid out, it still was a strong case — the casino had to deliver one million sterling pounds to the plaintiff, and a part of the sum was used to arrange reconstructive surgery for his son. The reason why Merlaku won is not just because of his strong arguments in the court: the establishment didn’t initiate the official check of its equipment and the win itself.

⚖️ Conclusion

Casino floors might have better odds in their own facilities. However, as practice shows, it is quite questionable when it comes to court deals. In this article, special attention has been paid to gamblers who have successfully sued land-based establishments thanks to strong legal arguments. Not every legal victory counts as a triumph though. Just remember the case with Atlantic City and the court success of Ken Uston — one win against stricter and more well-thought-out rules to outlaw card counters that were introduced for Blackjack players.

Although gambling is based on luck, engaged members shouldn’t be overly careless and rely on randomness when it goes to protecting their rights. Such victories as of Bruno Venturi and James Grosjean are rather exceptions since the majority of cases are resolved outside the courtroom on good terms between casinos and players. If the house puts too much pressure on guiding its edge unjustly, there is always a way out.

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