Gambling addict appeals court decision

Friday, April 18, 2003 | 11:27 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A compulsive gambler is appealing a federal judge's dismissal of his lawsuit against a riverboat casino he claims lured him to gamble away his life savings.

Attorneys for David N. Williams, 53, filed the appeal with the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

That court's ruling on another compulsive gambling-related claim was cited as reason the lower court dismissed the claim.

Williams' lawsuit claims the operators of Evansville's gambling boat should have barred him because they knew he was an addicted gambler.

"We feel the appeal is worth pursuing because of the depth of the problem of compulsive and pathological gambling in the state and across the country," Douglas Briody, one of Williams' attorneys, said Thursday.

The lawsuit sought $175,000 for Williams' gambling losses and punitive damages.

It claimed riverboat officials knew Williams was a compulsive gambler and banned him from the casino, but later enticed him with mailings and advertisements to return.

Patrick Shoulders, an attorney for Casino Aztar, said he was "confident the (appeals court) will uphold the District Court," rejecting Williams' appeal.

In March, U.S. District Judge John Daniel Tinder ruled that Williams' 2002 lawsuit had "no genuine issue" against Casino Aztar.

Much of Williams' case, Briody acknowledged, hinges on state law. The action was filed in U.S. District Court because it also alleges Casino Aztar violated federal racketeering and maritime laws.

A common thread joining the state-law issues is whether the casino had a duty to Williams -- based on information it had that might have indicated how grave his gambling problem was -- to "exercise care on his behalf," Briody said.

A retired state accountant, Williams worked 24 years for the state before becoming disabled because of a neck injury and depression, according to his lawsuit.

Casino Aztar is owned by Aztar Corp. of Phoenix, which also owns the Tropicana resorts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the Ramada Express in Laughlin and Casino Aztar in Caruthersville, Mo.