8 Asians

The Golden Nugget Casino of New Jersey has sought legal reprisal against a perceived injustice against its honest business endeavors by suing the gamblers who won $1.5 million USD and Gemaco card company for “selling a pre-shuffled deck that wasn’t pre-shuffled” on 30 April.

Golden Nugget Casino, who filed with the New Jersey superior court claims in a recent statement that “The gamblers unlawfully took advantage of the Golden Nugget when they caught onto the pattern and … by passing money to fellow gamblers in order to place bets in excess of posted betting limits.”

Three of the gamblers have filed a countersuit against Golden Nugget, claiming racial discrimination against their Chinese heritage. Benjamin Dash, attorney for the gamblers, elaborates that “all of the players were Asian.” According to the Yahoo! News article:

After the win, Dash said, one of his clients was assaulted when he answered the door of his hotel room.

The man was pinned against a wall and his belongings were searched, Dash said. He was then held in a room without access to food, water or an interpreter, according to allegations in the countersuit, which identifies no particular assailant.

The color of money doesn’t discriminate, and as appalling as the allegations the gamblers have made about their treatment by the casino, pulling the racism card probably isn’t even necessary to strengthen their case. The casino wants its money, and would likely have gone after anyone who won that amount regardless of race. The case will be heard on 31 August.