This article appeared in USA Today and its about what to do if confronted by casino security.Its from Bob Nersesian New Book "Beat The Player" Bob Nersesian will be a guest on Kenny and I radio show in the coming weeks Las Vegas isn't all fun and games for gamblers. So says Bob Nersesian, a veteran attorney who has made a career representing high rollers in Sin City. In his new book, Beat the Players (Pi Yee Press, $19.95), Nersesian says casino security guards really do abuse winning customers from time to time — just like you see in the movies. USA TODAY's Gene Sloan talks to Nersesian about the tourist mecca's darker side and what vacationers should know about their rights. Q: For real? Casinos really rough up customers? A: Everything from briefly forcing them into a security office against their will through broken bones. (But) since I've started litigating these cases in the mid-'90s, it has become rarer. Q: Describe a typical scenario. A: I'd highlight two. A casino identifies an advantage gambler — someone who plays with an edge over the casino, for example, card counters — (and) they take the gambler to the security office against their will, sometimes in handcuffs, subject the gambler to a search and photographs, run (their name) through the local police and then throw the gambler out. This is false imprisonment and a crime. The other scenario is an extension of the first. If the patron exercises self-defense or merely tries to escape, as is their legal, statutory and constitutional right in Nevada, he is taken to the ground, sometimes beaten, the police are called. The police march lock-step with casino security, and even though the initial false imprisonment is evident, the patron is then arrested for disorderly conduct or even battery on the casino personnel. Q: Pretty serious charges. Why don't we hear more about this? A: It's out there, but for some reason no one is putting it all together. Video (recently) appeared on television with casino security attacking a patron as his back is turned while he is walking out the door. (In that case), the police actually arrested this individual for battery on the security officer who tackled him. The Las Vegas Review-Journal published an exposé filling an entire section on such incidents. There have been numerous verdicts cresting six figures. Through it all, the national press has yawned. Q: Is this just happening to the professional gamblers? Should the mom on the dollar slots be worried? A: In my book there is a chapter titled "Finding a Nickel Brings Trouble," (about) what happened to Estella Romanski at the MotorCity Casino in Detroit. Romanski was taken to a back room and subjected to treatment that the courts found particularly reprehensible and egregious. This was a grandmother of nine playing nickel slots. This is not a Las Vegas issue, but an industry issue, and yes, "mom" can be brought into the equation. Q: Casinos must see some bad apples, though. Can't they legally detain customers they think are doing wrong? A: It depends, (and it) can vary by state. The answer is, generally, yes if they are conducting a citizen's arrest for a crime committed in their presence, if they reasonably suspect that the customer is cheating, or if they have probable cause to believe the customer has committed a felony. If none of these are present, then the answer is generally no. Q: What should a customer do if this happens? A: Generally, cooperate physically. Answering questions can come back to haunt you, though. Voice displeasure. If the casino is falsely imprisoning the customer, the customer does have a right of escape or self-defense. That's not going to help them at the moment, though, because the casino will likely respond violently. Incidentally, the casino has no right to search you absent a reasonable suspicion you are armed, and has no right to compel the production of identification. Nevertheless, don't be surprised if they do either of these. Joep
PLEASE and thank you. Now ya'll, if that don't fit the "If You Want to Know...Ask Joe," catch phrase, nothin will. Everyone should have Nesserian's phone number in their pocket. Or hidden somewhere safe on their person. I've met "folks" who were accused of cheating at three card poker and similiarly at casino three card monty. (Yeah in various forms it exits.) But, if that person won at a game that was unbeatable, the casino had to believe somehow they were "cheating." The case of Romanowski(elderly grandmother) was particularly interesting, cause she picked up a stray nickel from a slot payout. OHHHH. Not her nickel, the casino said. Send her to jail. Yet, we've all seen the slot pigs, trolling for unpaid payouts and stray money from the machines. Same folks used to cruise the pay phones. Now, Bob(can I call you Bob?). Should establish a seperate division for Indian Casino"s. Cause, ya'll can have fun and be entertained. But don't you dare try to take any money out of there. And, you better know, if you thought you knew your rights, then you were with Custer. Pay backs are a bitch. Tobacco and gaming. Fighting the megaliths is possible. But talk to the wall on Indian Holy Land. The only complaint I have with the post I'm responding to, is the publishing house.
