Casino news source: Press of Atlantic City - http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/
Gambler wants out of self-imposed casino ban. No way, CCC says
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, (609) 272-7258
Published: Thursday, January 18, 2007
ATLANTIC CITY — He was angry with himself after dropping a bundle at a craps table. So on the same day, he marched over to the offices of the Casino Control Commis-sion and signed up for a program that bans him for life from Atlantic City's gaming halls.
He didn't know at the time that not only would he be banned in Atlantic City, but also from affiliated casinos in Las Vegas and other gaming markets.
Now the gambler wants back in the games.
But the lifetime ban will stick. An unsympathetic Casino Control Com-mission refused Wednesday to remove the man from New Jersey's self-exclusion list despite arguments from his lawyer that his civil rights may have been violated.
Because the self-exclusion list is confidential, the gambler was publicly identified only by the initials “S.D.” The program allows gamblers to voluntarily ban themselves from casinos for a period of one year, five years or a lifetime.
S.D. chose the lifetime ban after a frustrating day at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa's craps tables on July 26, 2004.
“I did this out of anger because I had lost back a substantial amount of money that I had won earlier playing craps that day. This was one of the most foolish and misguided actions that I have ever made,” the man wrote in a Nov. 5, 2004, letter to Casino Control Commission Chair Linda M. Kassekert. “Since that date (July 26, 2004), it has deprived my wife and me of a tremendous amount of fun that we had gambling in Atlantic City.”
Lloyd D. Levenson, the man's attorney, argued unsuccessfully before the commission that his client was never warned that the ban would extend outside Atlantic City to sister casinos in Las Vegas and other gaming markets. Gaming companies use New Jersey's self-exclusion list to keep banned gamblers out of their affiliated casinos across the country.
Levenson said the self-exclusion form that his client signed in 2004 did not explain the nationwide ban. Since then, the form has been revised to warn gamblers of those consequences.
“He said he would have never signed this form if he was told of those consequences,” Levenson said.
Questioning whether his client's civil rights had been violated, Levenson contended that the gambler was like a criminal defendant who pleads guilty but is not advised by the judge of the ramifications of his plea.
The casino commissioners scoffed at the analogy.
“That's like saying, ‘Geez, I wouldn't have robbed that bank if I knew I was going to jail,'” said Michael A. Fedorko, the commission's vice chair.
Created in 2001, the self-exclusion program is a way for compulsive gamblers to avoid the pitfalls of the casino scene. Commission spokesman Daniel Heneghan said 525 people have placed themselves in the program, with about half choosing the lifetime ban. No one has ever been allowed off the list early, but 74 people have been removed after their one or five-year bans expired, Heneghan said.
Gary A. Ehrlich, an assistant state attorney general representing the Division of Gaming Enforcement, cautioned that there could be a flood of other self-excluded gamblers seeking to lift their lifetime ban if S.D. was allowed back in the casinos.
Levenson said S.D. is not a compulsive gambler, but signed up for the self-exclusion program in an impulsive act motivated by his frustrating gambling losses. According to Levenson, the man lives within driving distance of Atlantic City and wanted to avoid the temptation of casinos so close to his home.
“He didn't want to gamble in his backyard because it's too easy,” Levenson said.
Despite the Atlantic City ban, the man wanted the option of being able to gamble in Las Vegas during occasional vacations there with his wife, Levenson explained.
However, it seems he is out of luck. S.D. already has received letters from casinos outside Atlantic City telling him he would not be welcome at their place. At last count, there are more than 40 casinos across the country where he would be banned, his lawyers said. |
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