Card counter prevails in suit against LV resort

Friday, March 10, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Despite a District Court finding of fraud, a card counter is entitled to his $40,400 in winnings at the blackjack table at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled 3-1 Thursday.

The court overturned the ruling of District Judge Jack Lehman, who ruled Richard Chen should not get the money because he committed fraud.

Chen, identified by the court as a card counter, paid $29,000 for gaming chips, giving a false Burma passport for identification. He played for several hours, left and then returned and invested $15,000 more in chips.

He ended up with $84,400. When he was being paid off, casino personnel noticed the passport was false. An agent for the state Gaming Control Board was called. He instructed the casino to give Chen a receipt for the $84,400 while an investigation was conducted.

Later, the agent said the inquiry uncovered no crime and directed the Monte Carlo to pay the $84,400. But the casino returned only $44,000 to Chen and appealed its case to the state Gaming Control Board, which sided with the Monte Carlo. Chen filed suit and lost in District Court.

The Supreme Court said Chen had to present identification to comply with federal treasury regulations that require the recording of names of all persons involved in transactions of $10,000 or more. This regulation is aimed at stopping money laundering.

The court said the Control Board was wrong when it decided Chen had committed fraud. To reach that conclusion, the court said it had to be proven that the misrepresentation caused the loss of the money.

Justice Miriam Shearing, who wrote the majority decision, said, "The false identification allowed Chen to receive $44,000 in chips but it did not cause Chen to win."

The court said the Monte Carlo failed to show it "detrimentally relied" on the misrepresentation in allowing Chen to play. The court said the identification is required for federal purposes, not for permitting a customer to play.

"Chen's skill in playing blackjack, rather than his misrepresentation of identity, was the proximate cause of his winning," Shearing said.