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Blackjack Insider Newsletter, Nov. 2004, #58

The Bear Growls is a frequent feature of the free BJ21.com newsletter, featuring casino-related topics. To subscribe, go to www.bj21.com. LVBear is a contributor to BJ21.com Green Chip, the internets premier location for blackjack discussion. LV Bear is also a blackjack player and casino critic that offers his opinions on things that sometimes go wrong in the world of casinos

Kudos for Las Vegas Lawyer
Bob Nersesian is a hero.  Not in the sense of a firefighter rushing into a burning building to save people, or a police officer that stands up to armed robbers to protect the public.  But Mr. Nersesian is standing up to other bad guys -- the bullies who run casinos and the useless bureaucrats who are supposed to be protecting the public from casino employees committing crimes and generally ignoring laws and regulations.

Mr. Nersesian has represented, usually successfully, many law-abiding, honest casino patrons who have been victims of abuse by casinos and/or the Gaming Control Board.  He is doing it again, by taking on the "regulators" and casino interests in the MindPlay lawsuit.  The fact that the Gaming Control Board did not long ago ban MindPlay shows how useless the agency is in protecting the public.

Mr. Nersesian recently obtained a nearly half-million dollar jury award for James Grosjean, who was assaulted and kidnapped by Imperial Palace security guards. Mr. Nersesian's efforts in exposing some of the atrocious behavior of casinos towards winning players are now getting national media publicity.  The bad publicity may help stop some of the worst behavior, and may even spur the Gaming Control Board to finally take long-overdue action against the casinos who allow these things to happen.

Thanks to Mr. Nersesian for taking these cases, and best wishes for future success.  It is important to let the bullies know that sometimes they have gone too far.  The Mindplay case and the Grosjean case send that message.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Nov-05-Fri-2004/business/25149847.html


MindPlay Lawsuit Filed
A Las Vegas attorney who has represented dozens of card counting clients filed another lawsuit Monday, this time to stop Nevada casinos from using a computerized card counting system that boosts the house's odds of winning at blackjack.

Links of interest:

Actual MindPlay complaint filed with the court
From Paragraph 38: ... agreement and conspiracy of these defendants to foist an illegal and thieving game on the unsuspecting public.

http://bj21.com/allen_vs_nevada/complaint.html

Alliance Gaming posts loss for quarter
The company made its first public reference to a lawsuit that names the company's Bally Gaming Inc. subsidiary, distributor of MindPlay, a computerized system that enables casino operators to monitor their blackjack tables.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2004/oct/21/517701489.html

EDITORIAL: Are gamblers being fleeced?
The Gaming Control Board, named in the lawsuit, should take the allegations seriously and investigate whether casinos are using the technology to soak gamblers.

Nevada Supreme Court gives OK to fabrication of evidence
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal story (http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Nov-16-Tue-2004/business/25269414.html):  The actions of the two agents "were not so sufficiently egregious as to strip them of the qualified immunity that they are entitled to under statute," the court said.    

The Gaming agents falsified reports stating that Mr. Grosjean and Mr. Russo were bending the cards, though they knew this to be untrue. The falsification of reports led to the illegal arrests of the two victims. No charges were ever filed, because there was nothing to charge them with. They did nothing wrong.

What could be more egregious than police officers making up a crime and then arresting people based on the fabricated evidence? This opinion was not unexpected, but is still incredible. As a Nevada resident, I hang my head in shame.  If anyone still had doubts that Nevada government is corrupt from top to bottom, this case should remove those doubts.