A night out at your local casino is a great way to blow off steam and have some fun. Quite often these outings will include a few servings of alcohol. It warms you up and and puts you in the mood for winning some big real money. But what happens when a person takes it a little too far? They may end up risking their dignity, credibility and rights to be there. Not to mention the entire contents of their wallet. In this article we’re going to look at how gambling facilities handle drunk gamblers entering their establishments. Not to mention the repercussions it can have on the casino and individual as a result.
A Real Life Example
One of the most talked about stories on the internet for an inebriated gambler, is 52-year old businessman called Mark Johnston from California. He was a frequent gambler, and spent one evening in the Downtown Grand in Las Vegas. He supposedly knocked back more than 20 drinks while losing $500,000 to games of Pai Gow and Blackjack over a course of 17 hours. Nobody knows exactly how he behaved during the time he spent intoxicated on the gaming floor. But he allegedly suffered a blackout and was unable to remember the turn of events which occurred.
Drunk Sues Casino
According to the alleged lawsuit, Johnston claimed that the employees at the casino served him so much alcohol that he wasn’t able to recall his losses. He didn’t even remember gambling there all together.
During an interview with CNN, he said “Just picture a drunk walking the street and he’s drunk, and someone pickpockets and takes his money from him. That’s how I characterize it,” Johnston said. “I feel like it’s the days of old Vegas, the way they’ve been extorting me with letters and attorneys. Downtown Casino had only been open a year at the time of the pending litigation, and never provided a comment following the interview.
Johnston was adamant that his intentions ran far deeper than losing half a million to their tables. He was no stranger to money and was already running a thriving car dealership at the time of his losses. “This is about you almost killing me,” he said. “What if I had gone to bed that night, with all those drinks in me, and I threw up on myself and I choked and died?
The case resulted in an investigation into the Downton Casino by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Casinos offer complimentary drinks to gamblers. But it is also their responsibility to ensure that it is illegal to “permit persons who are visibly intoxicated to participate in gaming activity”. And it’s illegal to provide “complimentary service of intoxicating beverages in the casino area to persons who are visibly intoxicated.” These two clauses appear in Nevada’s gambling regulations.
Casinos are Responsible for Their Guests
It actually comes down to the gambling operator’s responsibilities, and that of their staff. Here are several things outlined in their policy which they must strictly follow. Some of these things include:
- Serve and manage alcohol responsibly
- Preventing minors from entering the premises
- Preventing intoxicated person(s) from entering or remaining on the premises
- To provide Responsible Service of Alcohol training to all employees
- To promote the market in a way which doesn’t encourage excessive alcohol consumption
- Provide and promote alternative food and drink options within the grounds of the establishment
Everyone who works at a casino
will usually have to undergo strict alcohol-intervention programs when it comes to dealing with drunk gamblers. It’s the responsibility of both managers and staff to observe and pay close attention to any intoxicated behavior on the gaming floor or complex. Such behaviors would include, impaired speech, impaired hand-eye coordination and affected appearance.
Other actions that could indicate a drunk person in a casino would be things like: whether they can hold or read their cards at the table, and dropping chips or showing signs of confusion over the value and different colors associated with them.
It’s a problem if a casino staff member continues serving drunk gamblers drinks. That person should alert the casino security to have them removed from the establishment. If not, that individual could then be seen acting out of negligence, and therefore face criminal charges.
Save it for the Celebrations
While having one or two drinks while gambling is totally fine, and somewhat encouraged to put you in a more relaxed mindset. But going over the top and getting completely hammered is not. It just results in the player looking foolish and leads them to make silly decisions. Drunk gamblers usually walk away from the establishment in the minus. Take our advice for anyone prone to overdoing it on the sauce. They should either limit themselves to a couple of drinks, or just completely refrain from drinking altogether. Or… at least wait until they have left the casino and actually won something worthy of the hangover!
