NY Court Rules New Jersey Gaming Regulators Should Investigate Craps Claim

Wayne Chan is a resident of New York that decided to visit the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, New Jersey back in 2018/2019. While at the casino, he played craps and lost over $469,000. Chan claimed the casino game was unfair as the dice were altered to promote cheating by the casino. He owed the casino $200,000 and did not pay up due to the unfair game claim. Fast-forward to today, and a court in New York has ruled that NJ regulators need to investigate the claim by Chan.

In the court case, Chan claimed that the casino marked the dice with the table number. They also used nontransparent dice, both of which is not conducive with gaming laws for New Jersey Casinos. While at the craps table, Chan told the casino that he was concerned about the dice. He was told that the scribing is an industry standard and the regulatory agencies were aware of the practice.

Dice are regulated closely so that games are fair and there is no way to tamper with the tool used to play games like craps. New Jersey dice must be transparent and have cellulose except for the area that is the spots to indicate the numbers on each side. Serial numbers and the casino name are also excluded from the transparency.

Every casino must follow the rules regarding dice, or they are considered to be in violation of regulatory terms. It is unclear if the Golden Nugget was following protocols in this case or if they were using a dice that could have been tampered with.

After the lawyers for the Golden Nugget responded to Chan’s allegations, the player submitted a complaint to the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement. The agency did not become involved, and Chan did not win his lawsuit. The casino then filed a claim to try and secure the $200,000 that the player owed from the gaming session in question.

The case by Chan was taken to an appeals court in New York and in late April, the judge ruled that the lower court was premature in its ruling. A Division of Gaming Enforcement investigation should have been conducted first before a ruling was handed down in the court.  

The judge decided to deny a judgement with an opportunity to renew the ruling after the DGE looks into the matter or within six months if the regulator does not resolve the issue. Attorneys for the regulator and the casino involved have not commented on the matter.

For now, it seems like an opportunity for an investigation is long gone. While the DGE can look into the matter, the Golden Nugget most likely uses different dice now, so the one’s in play when Chan was at the casino may not be available for inspection.

That puts a huge issue in play for an overall investigation. The DGE may be able to find other players who feel the same as Chan, which would have huge repercussions for the gaming operator. However, it would most likely be difficult to find players who would know the specific rules for dice or know what to look for that would be consistent with any unfair advantage to the casino.

We will continue to follow this case and report any updates. Will the casino be able to win against Chan, or will the player be able to provide enough evidence to prove that the casino is in the wrong?