A state judge heard arguments Wednesday over whether 14 gamblers should keep more than $1.5 million in purported winnings after they were inadvertently dealt unshuffled cards in patterns during an hours-long baccarat session at Golden Nugget.
Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Donna Taylor must decide whether a streak of 41 winning hands dealt at a mini-baccarat table in April 2012 was legally valid. Other claims, such as an allegation that the casino discriminated against at least some of the players, all of whom are of Asian descent, when it refused to cash their chips, could go to trial.
Golden Nugget sued the players in July 2012 to recover $558,900 in chips cashed out by nine of the players and for a formal declaration absolving the casino of any responsibility to redeem the remaining $977,800 in chips. In court papers Golden Nugget said the players “became unwitting participants in an unauthorized and illegal game of chance” involving cards that were supposed to be pre-shuffled but weren’t.
At some point the players realized that cards were being dealt in predictable patterns and upped their bets, said Steven Scheinthal, an attorney for the casino, by phone Wednesday. A ruling could come by the end of January, he said.
The casino reached a confidential settlement with Gemaco Inc., the company that provided the cards, he said.