SEARCH NEWS:

 

Nevada Court Questions Basis for Gamblers' Arrest

CARSON CITY, Nevada – As reported by the Associated Press: "Nevada Supreme Court justices raised questions Thursday about the validity of a lower court ruling that dropped the state Gaming Control Board from a suit filed by two Las Vegas gamblers who said they were arrested and wrongfully accused of cheating.

"Chief Justice Deborah Agosti and Justice Nancy Becker repeatedly asked GCB attorney Jennifer Carvalho to explain the grounds for the ruling by Clark County District Judge Lee Gates that took the state out of the lawsuit filed by Michael Russo and James Grosjean.

"Russo and Grosjean consider themselves `advantage' gamblers who legally increase their odds of winning by taking advantage of a dealer's or casino's mistakes or by means such as card-counting.

"…Their lawyer, Bob Nersesian, sued Park Place Entertainment Corp. and its Caesars Palace resort on the Las Vegas Strip after their 2000 arrests following a win of about $18,000 playing poker. The suit against Caesars is still pending in Clark County District Court.

"Russo was jailed for about 12 hours, and Grosjean was jailed for four days.

"…When the Control Board moved to get its agents dismissed from the case, its legal argument was that the claims by Nersesian were conclusory allegations that lacked the necessary specificity to remain alive. Judge Gates agreed.

"But Agosti and Becker said Nevada law requires a judge considering a dismissal motion to assume that the allegations are factual until proven otherwise in later proceedings. Specific details to support the claims aren't required initially, Becker added…"

< Gaming News