Gambler Sues Casino After Losing $500K While Drunk

A man from California is suing the Downtown Grand casino in Las Vegas after he lost a staggering $500,000, apparently while drunk.

Mark Johnson arrived in Las Vegas last Thursday with his girlfriend; the drinking commenced in the limousine from Las Vegas airport, and continued all the way to the casino. Apparently, Johnson then continued drinking during dinner and – according to him – the rest of the night is a blur. (That’s what they all say!)

Johnson has been a regular at Las Vegas casinos for the best part of 30 years, but in this case was only made aware of his huge losses when he awoke sober the following morning. According to Johnson, it was clear that he was heavily drunk, but the casino continued to serve him drinks and loan him money.

Johnson said: “I feel like they picked my pockets. I feel like they took a drunk guy… like a drunk guy walking down the street, and you reach in his pockets and grab all his money.”

He noted that he was in a state of blackout during the time he was playing blackjack and pai gow and said that the lawsuit will be based on CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts. In Nevada, it’s illegal to allow visibly intoxicated punters to gamble and to receive free drinks.

According to Sean Lyttle, Johnson’s attorney, the casino has initiated a counter claim suing him for trying to shirk his gambling debts. Lyttle said about the lawsuit:

“It’s certainly an extraordinary case. This is not a story that I’ve ever heard before, where someone was blackout intoxicated where they couldn’t read their cards, and yet a casino continued to serve them drinks and issue them more markers.”

“It’s a very heavy-handed and unusual approach that we haven’t seen in this town in a long time.”

What will be the outcome of Mark Johnson’s lawsuit against the Downtown Grand Casino? Legal teams on both sides are now preparing for the upcoming case.