Planet Hollywood Opened as the Tally-Ho in 1963, But Since Changed Its Name Several Times
Ross Miller, a professional gambler from New Jersey, has filed a lawsuit against the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas. The card counter claims he was illegally detained and he had nearly $5,000 in poker chips stolen from him after staff noticed Miller counting cards in June 2013.
Ross Miller’s lawsuit was filed in the Clark County District Court. The same day, Miller filed a suit in New Jersey Superior Court against the owner of Planet Hollywood, Caesars Entertainment. Ross Miller claims in the New Jersey court case that he was illegally detained in three Caesars Entertainment properties in Atlantic City in 2013.
Casino Have a “Negative Stigma”
When the professional gambler was called by the Review Journal this week, he said, “The casinos in general have this negative stigma. They dislike professional advantage players.”
It is not illegal to count cards in a casino. At the same time, casinos have the right to refuse bets from gamblers. Often, casinos refuse to allow card counters to wager in their establishments. They also keep a black book with the photo identification of known card counters. Casino staff is trained to spot the signs of card counting, so they might inform their pit boss anytime they suspect the practice is taking place.
How Card Counting Works
Contrary to popular belief, card counting does not require advanced mathematical skills. The counts tend to be plus-one and minus-one, depending on card counting system a gambler uses. What makes card counting difficult is the need to vary bets, often by a factor of 100, to make use of the information collected. The point of card counting is to bet significantly more when the odds are in the player’s favor. If this is done, then the gambler can gain an advantage over the house. Casinos know they can’t stay open long, if they don’t have the advantage, so they guard their house edge jealously.
Martin Scorsese films might depict Las Vegas casino staff roughing up card cheaters and others who get one over on the casino, but it is strictly illegal for a casino to intimidate or harm gamblers for counting cards. While they can detain people they suspect of cheating, they cannot take chips from a player who gambled legally.
Lawsuit Is Justified, If Correct
Therefore, Ross Miller has a legal justification for the lawsuit, though he might have a hard time proving his claims. He and his lawyers might be banking on other gamblers coming forward. Since Miller claims he was hassled at four different Caesars Entertainment properties, he seems to believe he has faced a pattern of illegal behavior, which presumably would have happened to other players. When asked about the case, Caesars spokesman Gary Thompson said it is his company’s policy not to comment on pending litigation.
Las Vegas attorney Robert Nersesian is representing Ross Miller in the Las Vegas case, while Miller is representing himself in the New Jersey lawsuit. Miller says he was detained at the Caesars Atlantic City on May 24, 2013. He was detained and he claims that his information must have been shared between all the Caesars casinos. A court case in which he was accused of disorderly conduct was dropped in 2014.
Counting Cards at Planet Hollywood
In the Nevada lawsuit, Nersesian said that Miller was counting cards at the Planet Hollywood Resort on June 20, 2013, when he noticed he was being watched by casino personnel. He decided to cash out his chips. When he got to the Planet Hollywood casino cage to cash $4,975 in chips, he says that the personnel took his chips and would not give them back. They demanded to see his identification, which he refused.
When the staff would not return his chips, Ross Miller says he tried to contact the Nevada Gaming Control Board, but he lacked call service at the location. He claims that the casino staff had a duty under the law to contact the Control Board themselves at that point, but they did not.
Detained, Handcuffed, and Prosecuted
A member of the security staff asked for Miller’s identification at this point, and he again refused. He was told to leave the premises or be prosecuted for trespassing. At that point, he took out his cellphone to take a picture of the chips and he “was grabbed and handcuffed by Planet Hollywood personnel“. They called Las Vegas police, who initiated a criminal case against him. Ross Miller won the case, but says Caesars never returned his chips.
Accusations of Theft, Battery, and False Imprisonment
In the lawsuit, Ross Miller is accusing Caesars Entertainment of “theft, false imprisonment, defamation, battery, and malicious prosecution“. He says that he was received cuts and bruises during his arrest. Miller says he suffered similarly on two separate occasions in other Caesars properties in New Jersey: in July 2013 at Harrah’s Atlantic City and in November 2013 at the Showboat in Atlantic City. In each case, Caesars filed criminal charges against Ross Miller, but these charges were either withdrawn or failed to stick in each case.
Miller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “In these particular cases, the stuff they did, it really hurt me.”
He claims that he has spent thousands of dollars defending himself in court against their false charges, and he wants compensation and damages. Currently, Caesars Entertainment faces $23 billion in debt. One division of the gaming company is set to declare bankruptcy in mid-January 2015.
