$250k judgement against Imperial Palace

Guy wins $250k from Imperial Palace. Always happy to see outcomes like this. Maybe someday casinos will learn.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/may/25/gambler-wins-250000-court-case-against-imperial-pa/

Gee, a simple non-violent complaint about a malfunctioning slot machine ... such over kill.

Settling the punitive damages claim is usually very little money because judges in Vegas tend to limit a jury to only compensatory damages if a casino is a defendant. Elsewhere it would be big bucks but judges in Vegas know where their bread is buttered.

But ALL slot machines work perfectly ALL the time, unless they go "tilt" and just spin and spin and spin and spin...
IP must have been up to no good.

God does not play the slots!
Now I know why!

Quote: FleaStiff

Gee, a simple non-violent complaint about a malfunctioning slot machine ... such over kill.

Settling the punitive damages claim is usually very little money because judges in Vegas tend to limit a jury to only compensatory damages if a casino is a defendant. Elsewhere it would be big bucks but judges in Vegas know where their bread is buttered.

I'm not a lawyer and I could be wrong but in my experience it was totally up to the jury whether punitive damages were awarded or not. Now the judge influenced it by giving really shitty jury instructions that emphasized they'd have to come back for at least one more day to decide punitive damages if they chose to award them. No surprise, they didn't but they did have the option. According to Nersesian we could have taken it up on appeal and had a good chance of winning since the judge was out of line.

$250k for this case seems pretty high without injuries but maybe that's because juries are sick of hearing about security guard abuses in this town.

The fact that the slot machine actually was malfunctioning probably makes him a sympathetic figure. I bet all those jury members have felt like they got screwed on slots at some point.

Was Neresian the lawyer on this, too?

Quote: teddys

The fact that the slot machine actually was malfunctioning probably makes him a sympathetic figure. I bet all those jury members have felt like they got screwed on slots at some point.

Was Neresian the lawyer on this, too?

He wasn't mentioned in the article so I'm not sure.

If you watch the video attached to the article, things seem to be going fine until the big (6'6"+) guy in the suit shows up. It really seems like he instigates the whole physical confrontation.


I am puzzled by what was wrong with the machine. The bonus game is electronic, was it just looping the same sequence over and over? Isn't the outcome supposed to be RNG selected?

I would be suspicious also. Bonus rounds on Monopoly always award something! Even if it's 7 free spins, then if you still don't win anything...and if he played it for some time and noticed that he never ever got anything awarded, something ain't right.

Don't know if it's wise to go through all this at your own place of employment, but it worked out for him.

ah, never mind

Quote: teddys

Was Neresian the lawyer on this, too?

Yes.

Quote: Ayecarumba

If you watch the video attached to the article, things seem to be going fine until the big (6'6"+) guy in the suit shows up. It really seems like he instigates the whole physical confrontation.

The whole incident seems to be a massive security response. Sometimes its the way an incident is described that caused the escalation. The guy wasn't particularly agitated or particularly drunk. Yet the security guards may think of it as some nutcase wants his money back rather than a simple "Okay, I'll stand right here and make sure no one touches this slot machine until the Gaming Enforcement Officer arrives. Why don't you just sit over there and finish your drink, I'm sure the State's representative will be here shortly". Or perhaps, "since the amount in dispute is less than five hundred dollars we are not required to call Gaming Enforcement, but here is their number and if you wish to call them, they will be here quite promptly. We will be happy to station a security guard at the machine to preserve the situation while you decide what you want to do".

All the escalation came from the increasing presence of security guards and jerks who clearly were not even considering that it might indeed be the casino's fault and a customer with a perfectly legitimate complaint that should have been given immediate and serious attention.