Just because you get a $2 million marker doesn’t mean you have the right to continue gambling as long as you want, according to a federal judge, who tossed out a suit brought by a high roller against a major Las Vegas gaming operator.
From the LV Sun:
A federal judge in Las Vegas Wednesday has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a high roller who claimed that casino giant Park Place Entertainment Corp. cheated him out of millions of dollars that he had actually won.The suit constitutes an abrupt reversal of fortune for gambler Steve Mattes, who won an unprecedented $8 million jury verdict in December 2002 against Park Place, now Caesars Entertainment Inc. U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan threw out the verdict a few months later, ruling that it was flawed and not supported by evidence, and ordered a new trial that was scheduled to begin in September of this year.
The suit was originally filed in California, in Los Angeles County Superior Court in December 1999, but was eventually moved to federal court in Las Vegas. It centers on a four-day gambling spree by Mattes during opening weekend of Caesars’ Paris Las Vegas resort in September 1999. Mattes was invited by a casino host to gamble on a $2 million line of credit.
Mattes claimed Park Place breached a contract with him by refusing to extend him more credit after he blew through the $2 million in addition to earlier gambling winnings. Mattes asked the casino to stop payment on a check for gambling winnings earned during an earlier trip to Bally’s Las Vegas. The casino stopped payment but refused to allow Mattes to gamble further at Paris, instead ushering him to the Las Vegas Hilton, another Park Place property at the time.
Las Vegas SUN: Judge tosses out gambler’s suit against casino company
If the casino had let him continue gambling, wouldn’t they have been catering to a problem gambler? It seems like casinos can’t do anything without angering someone.