LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline) - A gambler whose $20,200 in chips was kept from him for eight months can't sue the Bellagio Hotel & Casino and MGM Resorts in federal court, a judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey on Oct. 9 ruled that the amount in question fell way short of the $75,000 threshold for jurisdiction in her court and dismissed the case without prejudice so plaintiff Theodore Lichtenstein III can refile in state court.
She rejected his argument that $20,000 in attorneys fees will be added to the tab by the end of the case.
"Even assuming he could justify this figure, or if I accept the representation that fees in that amount could be expected in litigation like this, Lichtenstein till falls well below the $75,000 threshold because $1,000 in compensatory damages + $10,000 in punitive damages + $26,000 in attorneys fees totals just $37,000.
Lichtenstein sued in April, calling himself an advantage gambler who had earned $20,2000 in chips at the Bellagio on Aug. 15, 2021. He says Bellagio personnel took possession of the chips and neither redeemed nor returned them to him.
He also alleges the defendant issued a trespass warning barring him from casinos/hotels and fraudulently sought to intimidate him with a warning that went beyond the borders of Nevada and at casinos or properties it neither owns or operates in violation of Nevada state law.
The Bellagio said i could not verify where Lichtenstein acquired the chips, so it retained them pursuant to Nevada gaming laws that prohibit redemption for chips for people who may not have obtained them "directly and lawfully."
Lichtenstein went to the Nevada Gaming Control Board's Enforcement Division and received his money eight months later. His suit sought compensation for emotional stress and travel expenses, as well as punitive damages.