Drunk Sues Las Vegas Casino for Allowing Him to Gamble

A gambler decided to sue the owners of a Las Vegas casino, after playing while drunk and losing $500,000.

It’s not uncommon to see drunken people running around in Las Vegas, spending all their money on drinks, women and casino games. Chances of losing are even higher when gambling under the influence, but nonetheless Mark Johnston stepped into a casino, sat down in front of a dealer and somehow managed to lose $500,000 during the Super Bowl weekend.

While it is perfectly understandable that he’d be upset after losing all that money, blaming it on the casino might be pushing it a bit. However, American gambling laws do say that a casino can be disciplined for accepting players who are visibly drunk, so it’s all a matter of interpretation.

Pocket-picking casino?

It is up to the court to decide who has the most convincing argument to win this one, but if the man manages to prove that he was clearly not in the state to gamble, yet the casino staff accepted his bets, he might have a good chance to beat the casino in court.

“I feel like they picked my pockets,” Mark Johnston said. “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.”

If Johnston is successful in his battle in court, he could create a precedent and casinos could be facing more lawsuits like this one. According to local gambling news, the Gaming Control Board is currently looking into the case.