California Man Loses $500,000, Sues Las Vegas Casino - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Family Ties Forever! · 03-06-2014, 11:38 PM

http://www.click2houston.com/news/Ga...9/-/index.html

Gambler Loses $500K, Sues Vegas Casino
Man alleges he was too drunk to be allowed to gamble
Author: By Michael Martinez and Kyung Lah CNN
Posted: Mar 6, 2014 3:38 PM CST Updated: Mar 6, 2014 6:35 PM CST

(CNN) - A California man who lost $500,000 at blackjack and pai gow is suing a new Las Vegas casino, alleging he was too drunk to be allowed to gamble over a 17-hour period just before Super Bowl weekend. Mark A. Johnston of Ventura, California, is claiming he shouldn't have to pay the Downtown Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino the $500,000 debt because employees served him so much alcohol that he suffered a blackout and was unable to remember the losses or even his gambling, the lawsuit alleges.

In an interview Thursday with CNN, Johnston contended he was plied with liquor and victimized in an old-time hustle. "Just picture a drunk walking the street and he's drunk, and someone pickpockets and takes his money from him. That's how I characterize it," Johnston said. "I feel like it's the days of old Vegas, the way they've been extorting me with letters and attorneys."

The casino, which opened last November, declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation, said spokeswoman Nicole Neal. Johnston said that he's not being a bad loser. "I am not a sore loser. I've lost half a million. I've lost 800,000. I've lost a lot of money. This has nothing to do with that," the veteran gambler said. "Obviously I can afford what I lost."

Johnston, 52, a former owner of a Los Angeles car dealership, was standing beside his $250,000 Mercedes-Benz as he insisted his lawsuit was about a bigger issue. "This is about you almost killing me," Johnston said. "What if I had gone to bed that night, with all those drinks in me, and I threw up on myself and I choked and died?" Johnston acknowledged some responsibility for his drinking -- as many as 20 drinks while gambling over 17 hours on top of about 10 drinks before even stepping into the casino.

"My responsibility is, look, I had some drinks at the airport, on the plane. At some point, that's my responsibility," Johnston said. "The unfortunate part about it for them is, they have a bigger responsibility than I do." Johnston was referring to how the casino must follow Nevada laws on how complimentary drinks are given to gamblers. In fact, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is now investigating the Downtown Grand, formerly the Lady Luck Casino, on whether it violated gaming regulations, said Karl Bennison, chief of the board's enforcement division.

Those regulations prohibit casinos from "permitting persons who are visibly intoxicated to participate in gaming activity" and from providing "complimentary service of intoxicating beverages in the casino area to persons who are visibly intoxicated." "We are investigating this thoroughly," Bennison said. "We are aware of this matter. We'll see if there are regulation violations."

The casino could face a license revocation or fines or both if the violations are substantiated, Bennison said. Neal, the casino spokeswoman, also declined to comment about the state investigation. Johnston, a frequent gambler in Las Vegas, had always been a cash player at casinos and was never issued a line of credit more than $25,000. Still, in the past 10 years, he had never drawn on any casino line of credit, the lawsuit said. He worked in real estate and car sales and was the owner of a Mercedes-Benz dealership in west Los Angeles.

During Super Bowl weekend, however, he and a female friend flew from the Burbank, California, airport to Las Vegas, and he had consumed several alcoholic drinks by the time the couple ate dinner at a restaurant run by the Downtown Grand Casino, according to a sequence of events described in the lawsuit. At dinner, Johnston was visibly drunk, which was also observed by an old friend, a law professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas who joined the pair for dinner.

Johnston was so inebriated that he had no recollection of leaving the restaurant on January 30 or the subsequent 44 hours, when he gambled in the casino and took out markers totaling $500,000. He lost all that money at the Chinese domino game pai gow and at a private blackjack table during 17 hours of uninterrupted gambling and drinking, until the late afternoon of the following day.

Johnston takes prescribed medication that increases the intoxicating effects of alcohol, and a casino host who invited Johnston to the Downtown Grand was aware of Johnston's use of the medication, the suit alleged. "Mr. Johnston, an experienced gambler, was dropping chips on the floor, confusing chip colors, and slurring his speech badly, and he was unable to read his cards or set his hands properly," the lawsuit said.

"To her shock, after sleeping for seven to eight hours, (Johnston's female friend) found Mr. Johnston still gambling at the blackjack table, and still heavily intoxicated, late in the afternoon of January 31, 2014," the suit said.
The suit recounts how Johnston took out two lines of credit for $100,000 each in the span of 21 minutes after 2 a.m. on January 31.

By 10:52 a.m., Johnston had taken out a third marker, for $50,000. Almost two hours later, he signed another marker for $250,000, the suit said. Johnston lost it all. Moreover, the casino allegedly reneged on providing Johnston with a 20% discount on repaying the $500,000, which would have reduced the debt to $400,000, the lawsuit claimed. The casino also allegedly demanded that Johnston repay the $500,000 debt 46 days early, before a March 31 deadline, said the lawsuit, which was filed in February.

In the days after losing the $500,000, Johnston went to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, one of his preferred Las Vegas gaming destinations, but a Downtown Grand representative called the Hard Rock and told them of Johnston's debt, cautioning them about doing business with Johnston and "sullying Mr. Johnston's good name in the process," the lawsuit said. The lawsuit seeks to nullify the gambling losses and seeks compensatory as well as punitive damages "in an amount sufficient to deter the Downtown Grand from similar conduct in the future," the suit said.

Copyright 2014 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.

Coffeecup · 03-08-2014, 10:50 PM

My first thought ( although I haven't read or heard the whole story), is anyone who is so bombed out of it and loses money, shouldn't blame the other person. The man didn't have to accept the alcohol. What ever happened to the words. NO Thank you. What happened to keeping your wits?? The world is strange place.!!

cleverfun3000 · 03-09-2014, 12:43 AM

. . . .as a last resort, when you are cornered over something you did while under the influence, BLAME IT ON THE ALCOHOL. As we all know from countless trials, that ALWAYS works...*SMIRKING*

Regulus · 03-09-2014, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coffeecup

The man didn't have to accept the alcohol.

Whenever I'm in 'Vegas I ask for Hot Chocolate, (Morning) Soda, (Afternoon) Or Iced Tea (Evening). In 1993 I only lost $20.00 while "Trying (But I spent $300.00 on Shows and the then newly completed Roller Coaster at Circus Circus)!

PS Circus Circus is getting a new Roller Coaster this year!

cleverfun3000 · 03-09-2014, 08:25 PM

Your Gambling Style reminds me of my own. I go to the racetrack 2 or 3 times a week but I never, ever bring more than 5-10 dollars. I play 10-cent superfectas till I win, ( total cost: about 30 - 60 cent per race) then when it hits for 25 - 85 bucks, I either go home or play with the tracks money to get more. Obviously we both gamble for the fun of making free money.

OH Nuts! · 03-15-2014, 12:14 PM

I think the odds of him winning his lawsuit are 1/500,000 lol! (Well maybe a little better than that but not by much!)

Janice Johnson · 03-15-2014, 03:49 PM

A Casino had to pay back about $800,000 dollars for sending Addicted Gamblers who were on the Self-Exclusion program vouchers to play money......

Liza · 03-19-2014, 02:34 PM

I don't gamble, but I've gone to both Atlantic City and Monte Carlo. Let me tell you my system... I go with friends who gamble, and I enjoy the free alcohol while I watch THEM lose their money. No regrets here!

OH Nuts! · 04-01-2014, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liza

I don't gamble, but I've gone to both Atlantic City and Monte Carlo. Let me tell you my system... I go with friends who gamble, and I enjoy the free alcohol while I watch THEM lose their money. No regrets here!

I don't either. I'm too afraid of getting sucked into that addiction. There's no such thing as easy money (at least with gambling.)

Janice Johnson · 04-01-2014, 11:37 PM

Oh Nuts, there is a thing where you start off playing small and winning huge amounts, but then keep playing, and start losing big.... Experts say that you should stop playing when you are still winning big. Though, I don't know anyone who will stop playing when they are still winning. They might stop playing if they start losing, but not when they are still winning, or worse, continue to play, hoping to get back the money they lost(chasing losses, which you are not supposed to do, but what is human nature)

johnpie · 06-17-2020, 09:48 AM

sorry for the bump. You may not believe me but I know this man and some years ago he won 100000$. I think he's just lucky. If you have a lot of money and you are ready to spend them you can start playing 777casino and poker)) Who knows, maybe you'll win some more cash and will become rich. Maybe you'll laugh at me but 2 years ago casino saved me and my family. Suddenly I lost my job and for a long time I couldn't find a new one. And once when I was staying home I've found a website and I decided to try) I was very wondered and happy when I won 1000$ from 100$

Sterling Holobyte · 06-21-2020, 11:00 PM

There is something called personal responsibility.

That's like someone suing McDonald's for making them fat.

opus · 06-21-2020, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnpie

sorry for the bump. You may not believe me but I know this man and some years ago he won 100000$. I think he's just lucky. If you have a lot of money and you are ready to spend them you can start playing 777casino and poker)) Who knows, maybe you'll win some more cash and will become rich. Maybe you'll laugh at me but 2 years ago casino saved me and my family. Suddenly I lost my job and for a long time I couldn't find a new one. And once when I was staying home I've found a website and I decided to try) I was very wondered and happy when I won 1000$ from 100$

The proceeding ad is a paid commercial program.......

03-06-2014, 11:38 PM	#1
Family Ties Forever! Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 16, 2002 Location: Keaton residence Posts: 10,214	California Man Loses $500,000, Sues Las Vegas Casino http://www.click2houston.com/news/Ga...9/-/index.html Gambler Loses $500K, Sues Vegas Casino Man alleges he was too drunk to be allowed to gamble Author: By Michael Martinez and Kyung Lah CNN Posted: Mar 6, 2014 3:38 PM CST Updated: Mar 6, 2014 6:35 PM CST (CNN) - A California man who lost $500,000 at blackjack and pai gow is suing a new Las Vegas casino, alleging he was too drunk to be allowed to gamble over a 17-hour period just before Super Bowl weekend. Mark A. Johnston of Ventura, California, is claiming he shouldn't have to pay the Downtown Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino the $500,000 debt because employees served him so much alcohol that he suffered a blackout and was unable to remember the losses or even his gambling, the lawsuit alleges. In an interview Thursday with CNN, Johnston contended he was plied with liquor and victimized in an old-time hustle. "Just picture a drunk walking the street and he's drunk, and someone pickpockets and takes his money from him. That's how I characterize it," Johnston said. "I feel like it's the days of old Vegas, the way they've been extorting me with letters and attorneys." The casino, which opened last November, declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation, said spokeswoman Nicole Neal. Johnston said that he's not being a bad loser. "I am not a sore loser. I've lost half a million. I've lost 800,000. I've lost a lot of money. This has nothing to do with that," the veteran gambler said. "Obviously I can afford what I lost." Johnston, 52, a former owner of a Los Angeles car dealership, was standing beside his $250,000 Mercedes-Benz as he insisted his lawsuit was about a bigger issue. "This is about you almost killing me," Johnston said. "What if I had gone to bed that night, with all those drinks in me, and I threw up on myself and I choked and died?" Johnston acknowledged some responsibility for his drinking -- as many as 20 drinks while gambling over 17 hours on top of about 10 drinks before even stepping into the casino. "My responsibility is, look, I had some drinks at the airport, on the plane. At some point, that's my responsibility," Johnston said. "The unfortunate part about it for them is, they have a bigger responsibility than I do." Johnston was referring to how the casino must follow Nevada laws on how complimentary drinks are given to gamblers. In fact, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is now investigating the Downtown Grand, formerly the Lady Luck Casino, on whether it violated gaming regulations, said Karl Bennison, chief of the board's enforcement division. Those regulations prohibit casinos from "permitting persons who are visibly intoxicated to participate in gaming activity" and from providing "complimentary service of intoxicating beverages in the casino area to persons who are visibly intoxicated." "We are investigating this thoroughly," Bennison said. "We are aware of this matter. We'll see if there are regulation violations." The casino could face a license revocation or fines or both if the violations are substantiated, Bennison said. Neal, the casino spokeswoman, also declined to comment about the state investigation. Johnston, a frequent gambler in Las Vegas, had always been a cash player at casinos and was never issued a line of credit more than $25,000. Still, in the past 10 years, he had never drawn on any casino line of credit, the lawsuit said. He worked in real estate and car sales and was the owner of a Mercedes-Benz dealership in west Los Angeles. During Super Bowl weekend, however, he and a female friend flew from the Burbank, California, airport to Las Vegas, and he had consumed several alcoholic drinks by the time the couple ate dinner at a restaurant run by the Downtown Grand Casino, according to a sequence of events described in the lawsuit. At dinner, Johnston was visibly drunk, which was also observed by an old friend, a law professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas who joined the pair for dinner. Johnston was so inebriated that he had no recollection of leaving the restaurant on January 30 or the subsequent 44 hours, when he gambled in the casino and took out markers totaling $500,000. He lost all that money at the Chinese domino game pai gow and at a private blackjack table during 17 hours of uninterrupted gambling and drinking, until the late afternoon of the following day. Johnston takes prescribed medication that increases the intoxicating effects of alcohol, and a casino host who invited Johnston to the Downtown Grand was aware of Johnston's use of the medication, the suit alleged. "Mr. Johnston, an experienced gambler, was dropping chips on the floor, confusing chip colors, and slurring his speech badly, and he was unable to read his cards or set his hands properly," the lawsuit said. "To her shock, after sleeping for seven to eight hours, (Johnston's female friend) found Mr. Johnston still gambling at the blackjack table, and still heavily intoxicated, late in the afternoon of January 31, 2014," the suit said. The suit recounts how Johnston took out two lines of credit for $100,000 each in the span of 21 minutes after 2 a.m. on January 31. By 10:52 a.m., Johnston had taken out a third marker, for $50,000. Almost two hours later, he signed another marker for $250,000, the suit said. Johnston lost it all. Moreover, the casino allegedly reneged on providing Johnston with a 20% discount on repaying the $500,000, which would have reduced the debt to $400,000, the lawsuit claimed. The casino also allegedly demanded that Johnston repay the $500,000 debt 46 days early, before a March 31 deadline, said the lawsuit, which was filed in February. In the days after losing the $500,000, Johnston went to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, one of his preferred Las Vegas gaming destinations, but a Downtown Grand representative called the Hard Rock and told them of Johnston's debt, cautioning them about doing business with Johnston and "sullying Mr. Johnston's good name in the process," the lawsuit said. The lawsuit seeks to nullify the gambling losses and seeks compensatory as well as punitive damages "in an amount sufficient to deter the Downtown Grand from similar conduct in the future," the suit said. Copyright 2014 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.
	__________________ Jenny

06-17-2020, 09:48 AM	#11
johnpie Member First Time Poster Join Date: Jun 17, 2020 Location: California Posts: 1	sorry for the bump. You may not believe me but I know this man and some years ago he won 100000$. I think he's just lucky. If you have a lot of money and you are ready to spend them you can start playing 777casino and poker)) Who knows, maybe you'll win some more cash and will become rich. Maybe you'll laugh at me but 2 years ago casino saved me and my family. Suddenly I lost my job and for a long time I couldn't find a new one. And once when I was staying home I've found a website and I decided to try) I was very wondered and happy when I won 1000$ from 100$
	Last edited by johnpie; 06-18-2020 at 08:04 AM.

06-21-2020, 11:00 PM	#12
Sterling Holobyte Harper House Senior Member Join Date: Nov 07, 2002 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,896	There is something called personal responsibility. That's like someone suing McDonald's for making them fat.
	__________________ "Let it go. Forget about it. Try smiling." -Michael Harris WPIV studio producer/shoe salesman/grocery store employee/Ex-sanitarium patient/Stephanie's boyfriend-then husband --------------------------------------------------- My 2nd First Blog:http://saturdaymorningfunnies.wordpress.com/

03-08-2014, 10:50 PM	#2
Coffeecup coffeecup. Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 17, 2003 Location: snoozeville Posts: 3,181	My first thought ( although I haven't read or heard the whole story), is anyone who is so bombed out of it and loses money, shouldn't blame the other person. The man didn't have to accept the alcohol. What ever happened to the words. NO Thank you. What happened to keeping your wits?? The world is strange place.!!

03-09-2014, 12:43 AM	#3
cleverfun3000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Manhattan Posts: 1,685	. . . .as a last resort, when you are cornered over something you did while under the influence, BLAME IT ON THE ALCOHOL. As we all know from countless trials, that ALWAYS works...SMIRKING

03-09-2014, 08:25 PM	#5
cleverfun3000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Manhattan Posts: 1,685	Your Gambling Style reminds me of my own. I go to the racetrack 2 or 3 times a week but I never, ever bring more than 5-10 dollars. I play 10-cent superfectas till I win, ( total cost: about 30 - 60 cent per race) then when it hits for 25 - 85 bucks, I either go home or play with the tracks money to get more. Obviously we both gamble for the fun of making free money.

03-15-2014, 12:14 PM	#6
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	I think the odds of him winning his lawsuit are 1/500,000 lol! (Well maybe a little better than that but not by much!)

03-15-2014, 03:49 PM	#7
Janice Johnson Commercial Lover Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 30, 2003 Location: Miami, Florida Posts: 4,738	A Casino had to pay back about $800,000 dollars for sending Addicted Gamblers who were on the Self-Exclusion program vouchers to play money......

03-19-2014, 02:34 PM	#8
Liza BestYearsofOurLives Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 24, 2001 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 6,537	I don't gamble, but I've gone to both Atlantic City and Monte Carlo. Let me tell you my system... I go with friends who gamble, and I enjoy the free alcohol while I watch THEM lose their money. No regrets here!

04-01-2014, 11:37 PM	#10
Janice Johnson Commercial Lover Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 30, 2003 Location: Miami, Florida Posts: 4,738	Oh Nuts, there is a thing where you start off playing small and winning huge amounts, but then keep playing, and start losing big.... Experts say that you should stop playing when you are still winning big. Though, I don't know anyone who will stop playing when they are still winning. They might stop playing if they start losing, but not when they are still winning, or worse, continue to play, hoping to get back the money they lost(chasing losses, which you are not supposed to do, but what is human nature)