Washington, August 22 (ANI): A New Jersey casino has sued gamblers, who won more than 1.5 million dollars in 41 winning hands, for cheating after realizing that the eight decks of cards used in a game of mini baccarat were not preshuffled.
The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City said that, as the same sequence of cards kept appearing on April 30, the gamblers increased their bets from 10 dollars to 5,000 dollars.
"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," ABC News quoted the casino as saying in a statement.
In a lawsuit filed in the state's Superior Court, the casino cited gambling regulations that said that gaming odds must be fair for both sides.
The gambling club is now seeking a return of the 558,900 dollars it paid out to several of the players and the nearly 1 million dollars worth of chips.
Benjamin Dash, attorney for the gamblers, said that his clients, who had not known each other, were "playing the game lawfully."
After paying out a portion of the winnings, the casino managers had become suspicious, getting convinced that they were watching a "sophisticated swindling and cheating scheme," and refused to cash in the remaining 1 million dollars in chips.
No evidence of a scheme has been found till now but on May 1, the Golden Nugget said that it learned by "direct admission" from Gemaco's CEO that the decks that had been used in the baccarat game were unshuffled, despite them being touted as preshuffled, certified decks.
Three of the gamblers have filed a countersuit against the casino claiming that they were discriminated against because of their Chinese heritage.
"All of the players were Asian [and] none of their chips were honored," Dash said.
"In New Jersey, a chip is evidence of a debt," he said.
After the win one of his clients was assaulted, when he answered the door of his hotel room and the man was pinned against a wall and his belongings were searched through, Dash said.
According to the countersuit, the man was then held in a room without access to food, water or an interpreter.
The Golden Nugget has called the claims "completely false."
"[We] 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," the casino said. (ANI)