Atlantic City Casino Sues Alleging Fraud; Players Demand Winnings In Countersuit

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Imagine sitting in a casino and winning bet after bet.

That is what happened to a group of gamblers in Atlantic City who collected more than $1 million in chips.

But the casino now says they are out of luck.

A New York man told CBS 2 that he and 14 others were denied their winnings. They said they were detained and roughed up during a trip to the Golden Nugget in April.

An attorney for one member of the group told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis on Wednesday that members of the casino staff grabbed his client and escorted him off of the casino floor.

"They basically smacked his hand, knocked his sticks down, pulled his hand behind his back, held his head down, then took him upstairs to a second floor room where he was held," the attorney explained.

The case has dissolved into multiple lawsuits; the Golden Nugget has alleged that the players cheated when they won $1.5-million during a round of mini-baccarat.

The cards used during the game were supplied by a company called Gemaco and were supposed to have been pre-shuffled, but, according to the casino, were never shuffled at all.

The players figured this out and increased the size of their bets, according to the casino.

But attorneys for the players told CBS 2 that this is a case of the Golden Nugget wanting to have their cake and eat it, too.

"The casino can't have it both ways. They can't keep the players' money when the players lose, and keep the money when the players win," said one lawyer.

So, the gamblers have filed a countersuit which claims that they played and won in good faith, and deserve to keep their winnings.

"They even knew it was coming out in certain patterns, but they didn't stop it. Two hours and a half until it was over, they didn't say anything," Mike Cho said.

The Golden Nugget released the following statement with regard to the suit: "The gamblers unlawfully took advantage of the Golden Nugget when they caught onto the pattern and increased their bets from table minimums to table maximums and by placing bets for others."

Both groups will appear in court next week.

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