Pretty outrageous story.
Here's the Denver post article about it: https://www.denverpost.com/2023/08/0...nting-lawsuit/
His name is Joseph Siraef. He claims he was going to Ameristar Blackhawk (about an hour west of Colorado, in the mountains) because he had a layover at the airport. I think this was a planned visit, but who cares?
He counted cards, was down $4k, and then they demanded his ID. He already had on a wristband from elsewhere on property, indicating he was over 21. He refused to hand over his ID, but was willing to flash it while keeping possession of it. The manager wasn't having it, and said they were booting him. He then asked to cash out, and they wouldn't let him, without ID.
Then, after he walked out, a Colorado Gaming agent showed up, took his ID, and indicated he was suspected of "fraud", which he claimed included counting cards! WHAT?!
Then a Black Hawk police officer showed up, and basically backed the Gaming guy.
Siraef's ID ended up in the hands of the casino, despite his protests.
He's suing for $3m.
Here's a video about it, which includes some of the recorded interactions:
Looks like he's in the right, BUT this case isn't necessarily a slam dunk.
The Gaming agent was a complete moron who didn't know card counting is legal in Colorado. However, they do have a right to detain people for "suspicion of fraud", so they can claim they were suspicious of other things, and it wasn't specifically about the card counting. Note he was never arrested.
Second, the casino has a right to demand ID for cashing out if they can legitimately make the case they were concerned he was underage. I'm not saying that's why they asked for the ID (obviously it was to get his identity because of the card counting), but if he was anywhere under 35, that's a tough case to make. You can't prove what they were thinking.
Had they refused to cash out someone like me (age 51) because of "underage" concerns, that would never hold up to scrutiny. I imagine this guy is probably younger, to where they might be able to get away with it,
Incidentally, when I was backed off once from blackjack, over 20 years ago, they demanded ID. I refused. I asked to cash out, and I was afraid they'd pull the "we need ID" shit, hiding behind the underage thing. They didn't, so I cashed out. Obviously today I no longer have to worry about that excuse.
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