Ameristar Casino Blackjack Lawsuit Claims $3M for Wrongful Detention

Article ByDavid Weir

August 10, 2023

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Posted in: US Casino News, Colorado Gambling News, US Gambling Crime News

In a high-stakes legal battle, a blackjack player alleges he was unlawfully detained after accusations of card counting at Ameristar Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado (pictured).

Georgia native Joseph Shiraef has now filed a lawsuit against Ameristar’s owners, Gaming and Leisure Properties, seeking $3 million in damages.

Shiraef argues that casino staff and state agents wrongfully detained him, as casino card counting is only illegal in Colorado if the player uses technology or card markings in doing so.

The complaint has only come to light this week after reporting from The Denver Post. It was originally filed in October 2022, and then refiled with amendments in December of that year.

Related: Bandits & Bounties slot, reviewed and rated

Casino Session Turns Tense

Shiraef visited the Ameristar Casino in October 2021 after his flight plans resulted in an evening’s layover at Denver International Airport.

Black Hawk’s rural Colorado location (permanent population 127) but relatively close proximity to Denver, about 30 miles drive, is part of its appeal as a growing casino city.

Once there, Shiraef played a few hours of blackjack before a casino employee asked to see his identifaction again. He complied, but the employee wanted to take it to the office to “check something”.

He refused, but he says the casino employee, despite having checked it already to determine his legal age, would not cash out his $1,800 in chips without taking his ID for examination.

Shiraef then decided to leave to catch his flight without cashing the chips, which he said he intended to sort out later. However, on his way out of the casino, his car was blocked by a Colorado Gaming Commission (CGC) agent.

Seized, Detained and Threatened

The lawsuit says the agent would not let Shiraef leave until he handed over his ID. The plaintiff called 911 himself because he believed the agent did not have the authority to detain him. The police officer that shortly arrived allegedly took Shiraef’s ID and handed it to the CGC agent, who took it back to the casino offices.

Shiraef was allowed to leave when the agent returned with the ID, who then allegedly told the plaintiff he was at risk of arrest for cheating or counting cards. By that point, Shiraef says he had missed his connecting flight.

His lawsuit claims that the sole reason Ameristar wanted to scan his ID was to unjustifiably put him in a database of “skilled players”.

“Shiraef did not do anything wrong or illegal to justify being seized, detained, threatened with criminal charges, and having his chip cash-out request denied,” argued the player’s attorney in lawsuit documents.

Seeking $3 million in damages, the player cites false imprisonment, defamation, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress that the incident caused.

Black Hawk Casinos

The ‘city’ of Black Hawk, Colorado, is the smallest city in the state by some distance – but it’s also one of the fastest-growing gambling destinations in the U.S.  

As well as Gaming and Leisure Properties’ Ameristar Casino, Black Hawk is also home to casino resorts owned by Monarch, Bally’s, and Saratoga Casino Holdings, and various other casino only venues.

The city’s Monarch Casino Resort & Spa has the dubious honor of being the first publicized victim of a new type of casino scam that has been sweeping the U.S.

Back in March, a Monarch employee took $500,000 in cash from the casino cage to a drop-off point in Denver after they received phone call instructions purporting to be from a senior company manager.