Reversed 86 equal $1m judgment

A federal court jury this week awarded a cocktail waitress at Rivers Casino more than $1 million in damages in a case in which she said a customer groped her and then was allowed to return after initially being kicked out.

Allyson Pelesky sued Rivers in 2014 on a sexual harassment and hostile workplace claim, saying that in April of that year a signature card member put his hand down her shirt and placed a $1 chip in her bra.

She said state troopers stationed at the casino asked if she wanted to press charges, but she said no after receiving assurances that the customer would be permanently banned from the club. He was kicked out but later allowed back in about 40 days later, according to her suit.

A U.S. District Court jury awarded her $150,000 in compensatory damages on Wednesday and today awarded another $999,000 in punitive damages.

In a statement, casino spokesman Jack Horner said the company values its employees, disagrees with the verdict and is exploring its options.

Tim Barry, who represented Ms. Pelesky, said he believed the evidence supported the verdict. He said he believed the casino allowed the customer back in because he was a high roller.


My opinion. If this judgment is allowed to stand I see big problems for casinos. What about sexual harassment or verbal abuse of casino personal by gamblers are they also due large 100k settlements if these gamblers are not permanently banned from the casinos., even though no charges were ever brought against the gambler. In this case would the casino have been better off not doing anything to protect there employee?


http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/08/13/Rivers-Casino-waitress-wins-more-than-1-million-in-lawsuit/stories/201508130195

....I have been biting my tongue and waiting for the right time/venue to discuss this.....so I'll start by asking here and now....I'd like your opinion prior to rendering details.....

A casino guest is sexually harassed (in a very clear and obvious way) by an employee (in the presence of others and the employee happens to be in a Management position.) The harassment is unwelcome and unprompted by guest (which, even if invited, casino employees should know better than to engage.) Guest is shaken up and decides to report incident to property/security days later - more because of the morality/lack of moral character of the employee than anything else. Casino "investigates" what is clear and concise written/tangible evidence of the incident over a period of ten (10) days. At the end of investigation, employee is put on disciplinarian leave and......casino guest is PERMANANTLY 86'ed.

How wrong is this and for how many reasons? Before I say more (and I once and for all intend to speak up and have my voice heard....) please offer your thoughts.

Also: need to know where I can/should appropriately start my own thread to discuss and explain what I alluded to above. Under the actual Vegas casino? Somewhere else? I want exposure and opinions and I'm sure there will be much of both.

a casino guest who did no wrong other than to stand up for her rights but who gets banned from the casino should telephone that guy whose name I always mispell. alot of gamblers in vegas have his number on speeddial.
Nerserian... half attorney- half pitbull.

You need five grand to talk to him but a one paragraph email will let him know if its worth his time.
No damages.... just outrage....but very bad publicity for a casino to deal with.

settlement value would be fairly high.

@FleaStiff:

I contacted Nersesian late last week and he picked up the office phone personally (it was the end of the day......) I briefly ran my story by him and he was, to say the least.....STUNNED. I have not had the chance to follow up with him (meaning, if I wish to proceed with utilizing his services) and thought I would table my situation with you (Vegas veterans) before deciding to move forward. My hesitation lies in the fact that I am poker player....I have sacrificed and invested a lot to move to Las Vegas....& I am fearful that blowing the whistle (using Nersesian) may end up crippling any chance at a career (poker or any other profession....)

Back to the OP, I'm concerned that the result of this award (which I don't necessarily disagree with, though the amount may be a bit high) is that this casino will never consider revoking a permanent banning on a patron again.

@OP: All this is going to do is teach casinos to fire staff if they're involved in any kind of complaint. Had they "banned" the customer, then also let her go "for whatever reason" then unbanned him 30 days later, no issues would have taken place. Now days most places have "at will" employment, which means they can fire you for 'any' BS reason. That's all casinos are going to learn from this.

@TexasDolly: I would be hesitant to post details about your story. While I'm quite intrigued and personally want to hear the fully detailed story, I'll be honest in saying if you're planning any kind of litigation (even potential) you should keep your mouth, and computer, quiet. Only discuss the case with Bob. If Bob believes you have a case, you should absolutely take this to court (in my opinion). You were wronged multiple times for doing nothing wrong. Lastly, in regards to your career, I don't see it being an issue. There are dozens of decent card rooms in Vegas and unless you're a widely recognized/known player this shouldn't cause any issues for you. Not only that if you ARE widely recognized then you could use the press to your advantage. If you're that concerned about your image, get a press secretary or someone for the case so that your image is protected as the rightful one, the victim, and not a "whistle blower."

I don't know, but Texas Dolly is Doyle Brunson's aka.

I understand your fear of having a casino chain taking action against you after filing a law suit against one of their properties. This would limit the poker rooms in your rotation in Vegas and affect your income. The fact that you were 86'd at one property for no reason decreases your earning potential and that IMO would affect the potential damage award as much as the sexual harassment aspect. Being barred from a large chain in Vegas would be very damaging to your career and if this was a CSR property it would affect your ability to play the WSOP.

Bob is the best and he doesn't take cases that he thinks that he can lose. If he says that he will take your case then listen to him and go forward. I also would advise not talking about this publicly especially here because there are many casino employees that post here.

Good luck, these people need to be taught a lesson.

Quote: TexasDolly

....I have been biting my tongue and waiting for the right time/venue to discuss this.....so I'll start by asking here and now....I'd like your opinion prior to rendering details.....

A casino guest is sexually harassed (in a very clear and obvious way) by an employee (in the presence of others and the employee happens to be in a Management position.) The harassment is unwelcome and unprompted by guest (which, even if invited, casino employees should know better than to engage.) Guest is shaken up and decides to report incident to property/security days later - more because of the morality/lack of moral character of the employee than anything else. Casino "investigates" what is clear and concise written/tangible evidence of the incident over a period of ten (10) days. At the end of investigation, employee is put on disciplinarian leave and......casino guest is PERMANANTLY 86'ed.

How wrong is this and for how many reasons? Before I say more (and I once and for all intend to speak up and have my voice heard....) please offer your thoughts.

TexasDolly,

Welcome to the forum. If you want your inquiry split off from the waitress thread, I will do so; just advise.

I do think, not knowing the details, you've suffered some harm and may have a case, but I am not a lawyer. I also think it's wise for you to keep the details to yourself for the moment and pursue legal advice from Bob N. or someone else. I just don't know what's more important to you, since the casinos reserve the right to not do business with anybody they please. Yeah, you can make an ugly public spectacle out of their rude cow of an employee, but does that serve your purposes? Seems to me your best course is to quietly sue their asses and keep the publicity angle as a bullet in your (and your lawyer's) gun for now, since your objective seems to be to get un-86'ed and pursue a pro career. Can't un-say something like that (accusation with names) once it's out.

JMHO; YMMV.

A mllion dollars? Another example of a ridiculous outcome.

Manager: "Allyson, we'd like to have this big fish in our tank again. He's promised to treat you with respect in the future. If we gave you $100 would you be okay with our letting the guy back?"

Allyson: "Sure, why not. There hasn't been a month that's gone by where some guy hasn't grabbed my ass."

They both laugh.

There are plenty of places to play poker in the world. Get a big settlement and move to LA and enjoy the beach.