Man Accused of Card Counting at a Blackjack Table Sues Casino
February 17th, 2010 | Published in Casino News
The man who was accused of counting cards at a blackjack table in the Paris Las Vegas casino in Las Vegas, Nevada is suing for rights to reenter the casino. According to the man, the casino’s decision to ban him from their establishment is not in accordance with Nevada law. Harris who is the defendant in the lawsuit owns the Paris Las Vegas casino.
According to Harris, Steven Silverstein was Counting Cards
Steven Silverstein was playing at a blackjack table at the Paris Las Vegas casino owned by Harris on September 6th, 2009 when four casino employees approached him. Steven Silverstein was directed to the cashier’s desk and asked to cash in his casino chips. Upon doing so, Steven Silverstein met the Paris Las Vegas manager who instructed Silverstein to leave the casino and imposed a ban on him returning.
According to the casino manager, Steven Silverstein was counting cards at the blackjack table. According to a letter Steven Silverstein wrote to Harrah’s Chief Executive Gary Loveman following the event, he was not counting cards and the casino manager had mistaken him for someone else. Mark Dunn, the Vice President of Legal Affairs, responded to the letter by banning Steven Silverstein not only from the Paris Las Vegas casino but also from sixteen total casinos in Harris western district.
Steven Silverstein Sues Harris to be Able to Reenter the Casino
According to Steven Silverstein, he was not counting cards on September 6th at that blackjack table. He also claims that Harris revoked his player’s club card for all of their casinos, effectively preventing him from playing poker at any of their establishments, which is against the original letter Mark Dunn wrote to Silverstein, which stated he was only banned from the western region of Harris’ branches. Steven Silverstein also believes that any ban is against Nevada’s laws and would like them all to be removed and his playing privileges to be reestablished at every Harris casino.
Steven Silverstein filed the lawsuit against Harris in the Clark County District Court earlier this month. Steven Silverstein is a lawyer in Los Angeles, California. To date, this is the only altercation he has had with the Harris casinos or any casinos on the Las Vegas strip. There is no word yet on whether Harris will decide to settle the Silverstein case out of court or proceed to trial.