It sounds like a scene from a movie: a group of friends earn over $1 million playing Baccarat, winning one hand after another, and casino staff can’t figure out how they’re doing it. It’s actually ripped from the headlines, as Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City is suing 14 gamblers for unfairly winning $1.5 million at Baccarat.Last week, a group of gamblers playing Baccarat at the Golden Nugget Casino banked over $1 million in winnings. They were able to determine the sequence of cards and won every hand they played. Casino staff were called in to find out what scam they were running, but they could not pinpoint any wrongdoing. By the end of the night, the players had won $1.5 million. Some of the players were allowed to cash out but $970 000 were held, as the casino felt that they did not have rightful access to the funds.
After a lengthy investigation, involving searching the hotel rooms of suspects, the casino discovered that a deck of cards was the behind the problem. It turned out that the cards were sent from the manufacturer is standard sequential order and they were not being shuffled during the game of Baccarat in question.
Since the players did not win their prizes fairly, the casino believes that it does not have to pay out the prizes. New Jersey gaming laws protect the casino operator and the player from unfair circumstances; and, in this case, the Golden Nugget should be favoured.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that such a situation has occurred. Earlier this year, an unshuffled deck of cards was used in another game of Baccarat for 3 ½ hours. Nine casino staff members were fired and the casino was fined over $90 000. While the Golden Nugget may receive compensation, the casino may also be subject to steep fines.
