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Addict ruthlessly exploited sues casino for £2M

anglolawyer

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anglolawyer
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You need a heart of stone not to laugh at this High Court claim


An Omani politician's wife and gambling addict is suing The Ritz casino after losing a staggering £2million at its card table.
Nora Al-Daher, 50, who lives in Muscat, blew her millions at the exclusive London club's punto banco table in just a few hours in April 2012.
But she claims she would not have lost the money if staff had not 'taken advantage' of her gambling addiction.
She told London's High Court that employees had stood behind her at the table, encouraging her to keep playing the card game, despite having been made aware of her addiction.
As her incredible losses mounted, they had even extended her cheque-cashing facility, she said.
'I needed someone that night to tell me to stop playing and bring me to my senses,' the multi-millionaire told the court.
'If I had been told to stop, of course I would stop immediately. No one ever told me to stop or think about my gambling.'
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What is punto banco?
 
anglolawyer said:
What is punto banco?
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The literal translation is "player banker". The game is otherwise known as "baccarat" which is a favourite with asian high rollers (or James Bond) because of its low house percentage (as low as 1.06% or 1.19% if you disregard drawn games).

You can try your luck for free at http://wizardofvegas.com/games/baccarat/ if you want to know more about it.
 
anglolawyer said:
What is punto banco?
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I don't know and cannot think of any way of possibly finding out. I fear we are doomed to forever wonder.

If only there was some kind of really, really easily accessible resource that we could tap in to.

One day we'll look Baccarat this thread ashamed of our ignorance.
 
Apparenlty it's good to be an Omani politicians wife.

I don't know anywhere that would extend me £2M in credit, she must have had excellent references.
 
I never understood the attraction of Baccarat, especially since the style I've seen played in real life - which is apparently the one that was played in this story - removes player choice from the equation (for those in the US who are unfamiliar, imagine blackjack if the player was forced to hit on 2-14 and forced to stand on 15-20). Chemin de Fer is a more entertaining version to my mind.
 
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Babbylonian said:
I never understood the attraction of Baccarat, especially since the style I've seen played in real life - which is apparently the one that was played in this story - removes player choice from the equation (for those in the US who are unfamiliar, imagine blackjack if the player was forced to hit on 2-14 and forced to stand on 15-20). Chemin de Fer is a more entertaining version to my mind.
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They're all mug's games though, really, aren't they?

The casino's even managed to make it illegal to actually be good at this sort of a game, so they've got the player all ends up. (I have no idea how they ever managed that!)
 
3point14 said:
Apparenlty it's good to be an Omani politicians wife.

I don't know anywhere that would extend me £2M in credit, she must have had excellent references.
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Sucessful casinos have very good records on people whith money who like to gamble large ammounts.
 
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3point14 said:
They're all mug's games though, really, aren't they?

The casino's even managed to make it illegal to actually be good at this sort of a game, so they've got the player all ends up. (I have no idea how they ever managed that!)
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Well, one major difference between Chemin de Fer and punto banco is that in the former players get to play as the bank, so that version limits the casino's end to a minimal "rake" like they get from a poker game on their premises. It's still profitable, but at a much smaller rate per player.

But yeah, any game where the casino is the bank and the player's opponent is pretty much for suckers since the overall percentage has to favor the casino in order for it to continue to function. It's the very definition of "for entertainment purposes only." ;)
 
bluesjnr said:
I don't know and cannot think of any way of possibly finding out. I fear we are doomed to forever wonder.

If only there was some kind of really, really easily accessible resource that we could tap in to.

One day we'll look Baccarat this thread ashamed of our ignorance.
Click to expand...

:) Oh, very droll. Haven't you heard of the internet? It's what I'm using right now :D
 
Babbylonian said:
I never understood the attraction of Baccarat, especially since the style I've seen played in real life
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It is mostly the fact that as an even money game, it is one of the fairest games you can find in the casino. It is better than an outside bet on the roulette table (even those that offer the en prison rule) though craps with odds taken is slightly better.

The other factor is that high rollers get to play it in luxurious surroundings at a sedate pace. Because it is almost fair, it is not unusual to hear of media reports of a high roller walking away with a fortune in baccarat winnings.

There is also "mini-baccarat" for the plebs in the main floor which offers the same fairness but not the same glamour.
 
psionl0 said:
It is mostly the fact that as an even money game, it is one of the fairest games you can find in the casino. It is better than an outside bet on the roulette table (even those that offer the en prison rule) though craps with odds taken is slightly better.

The other factor is that high rollers get to play it in luxurious surroundings at a sedate pace. Because it is almost fair, it is not unusual to hear of media reports of a high roller walking away with a fortune in baccarat winnings.

There is also "mini-baccarat" for the plebs in the main floor which offers the same fairness but not the same glamour.
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"Fair" enough. I suppose I can see the appeal but I don't find it appealing. :)
 
3point14 said:
They're all mug's games though, really, aren't they?

The casino's even managed to make it illegal to actually be good at this sort of a game, so they've got the player all ends up. (I have no idea how they ever managed that!)
Click to expand...

Well, it's not actually illegal (in the US, anyway) to play blackjack well enough to have an advantage, but it is legal for the casino to kick you out if they catch you.
 
For me, it is only my understanding of statistics, and the obvious wealth of most casinos, that convince me not to play. Just ask yourself: from where did all the money come to build and maintain those fancy casino buildings?

How odd that they will serve high rollers free alcoholic drinks and give them discounted meals, rooms, shows, and other perks. It is almost as if they are encouraging them to gamble!
 
Terrific radio program about gambling

Part one is about some Christians who learned to count cards in blackjack and beat the house. They went out and smoked the casinos for Jesus. (Story tells you exactly how to do it. :) )

Part two is about the subject of this thread -- a woman addicted to gambling & how the casinos courted her in order to get her to lose her inheritance to them. Absolutely freaky that this is even possible.

Broadcast

Transcript

Sample about a gambling addict named Angie Bachmann that might make you think maybe the casinos do have some responsibility:

(reporter). . . in the casino industry, the more you lose, the lovelier a prospect you become. So after Bachmann lost a quarter of a million dollars in one night at the casino in Council Bluffs, the phone calls began.

Angie Bachmann:
It probably went from a couple of times a week to five times a week, from various casinos hosts throughout the country, really.

Woman from Casino on voicemail:
I have been assigned to be your casino host here in Kansas City. And I was just calling. I noticed that you haven't been in for a while--

Sarah Koenig (reporter)
Bachmann played me a few of these messages from her answering machine.

Woman
--and that you have a birthday coming up. So I was calling to invite you to come to Kansas City to celebrate your birthday. If you need anything here at Harrah's, please give me a call. And we want to wish you a happy birthday on the 27th.

Sarah Koenig
These kinds of calls are standard, apparently. Angie Bachmann always gambled at Harrah's Casinos. The company is now called Caesars Entertainment, since it bought out Caesars. It's the largest gaming company in the world.

And Bachmann happened to start gambling at the same time that Harrah's began to overhaul its marketing strategies. Harrah's knew how to track each gambler's habits through Total Rewards cards, that each gambler, including Bachmann, would use throughout the casino. And that told the company exactly how much money each player spent, on which games, and at what frequency. The company would then use that information to tell them exactly what kinds of perks and rewards would keep certain gamblers coming back and at exactly what juncture to offer those perks and rewards.
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There is a way for the casinos to beat card counting. That is have several decks in play. When they have used half the cards the decks are taken out and shuffled.
 
I work casually for a casino and the Baccarat room (6 tables, you will rarely see all of them at use at the same time) makes more profit than the rest of the entire building.
 
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