A blackjack player from Georgia allegedly found himself detained at Ameristar Casino in Black Hawk for the gambling practice of card counting, according to his lawsuit against the casino, the city and others.

Faced with a long layover at Denver International Airport, plaintiff Joseph Shiraef decided to spend that time on Oct. 19, 2021, about an hour away in Black Hawk to try his luck at cards. But instead of walking out with a gambling win, the night resulted in a lawsuit against Ameristar Casino, its owner Gaming and Leisure Properties, the city of Black Hawk, one of its police officers and a Colorado Division of Gaming agent.

Shiraef argues that he was physically blocked from leaving the casino for the alleged “criminal violation of the Colorado fraud statute by counting cards,” the complaint purports.

Card counting is a blackjack technique defined as “keeping a mental tally of the cards dealt, so you know information about the cards that haven’t been dealt,” according to independent online gaming authority Casino.org.

But in Colorado, “it is not illegal to count cards using your brain,” said Daniel Carr, spokesperson for the state’s Department of Revenue, which oversees gaming. “It is illegal to mark cards or use any sort of technology to count cards.”

And a casino can reserve the right to ask a player to leave or no longer play blackjack “if you are really good at counting cards,” he said in a Tuesday email. “But it isn’t illegal.”

The recourse by casinos can be swift, though, as the businesses can eject players or even blacklist them around town, Casino.org reports.

Gaming and betting site Online Gambling puts the odds of winning at blackjack “as high as 42.22%,” but it remains “famous among casino games for having one of the most favourable house edges,” or the casino’s advantage.

In Shiraef’s case, he argues that he was detained with “no probable cause,” and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government were violated. In his complaint, he blames the city of Black Hawk for “not training police officers,” and both the casino and its owner for acts of false imprisonment, negligent training and “refusing to cash in his chips.”

Shiraef is seeking around $3 million in total: $1.5 million in economic and compensatory damages, and $1.5 million in punitive damages, along with costs and attorneys’ fees.

The complaint, originally filed on Oct. 7, 2022, was later replaced with an amended version on Dec. 5, 2022.

The city of Black Hawk and Patrol Sgt. Stephanie Whitman filed a motion to dismiss on Dec. 19, 2022. They counter that Shiraef failed to adequately plead a claim that would hold the city or Whitman liable, and that Whitman is entitled to qualified immunity, which protects government officials “from harassment, distraction, and liability when they perform their duties reasonably.”

Details of the lawsuit

After playing blackjack for a few hours at Ameristar Casino, Shiraef was down $4,000 when a casino manager asked to see his ID, according to the complaint. Although he’d shown his identification several times already and “had even been given a wristband” for adults, he allegedly complied.

But when the manager requested to “obtain” it to “check something,” Shiraef refused, the lawsuit states. From there, the situation escalated.

The manager allegedly informed Shiraef that he wouldn’t be permitted to cash out his chips, valued at $1,800, unless he handed his ID over. They went back and forth, with the plaintiff’s flight departure time approaching, the complaint details.

Shiraef hoped to reach the Colorado Division of Gaming, but, given his time crunch, “he decided to leave, intending to resolve the matter regarding the refusal to cash his chips later,” according to the lawsuit.

But as he drove toward the exit of the parking garage, a black SUV, with flashing blue and red lights, allegedly blocked Shiraef’s car.

“A Colorado Gaming Commission agent wearing a badge and a label on his jacket that says ‘police’ stepped out of the black SUV and approached Shiraef’s car window,” identifying himself as Joseph Nguyen, the lawsuit reports.

After Shiraef showed his ID to Nguyen, he was asked to hand it over, the complaint alleges. Shiraef then allegedly requested the presence of local law enforcement, as it “would be a relief if he could talk to an actual police officer at this point.”

Shiraef called 911 himself as “he was being detained against his will by the Gaming Commission agent when he had not done anything wrong or illegal,” according to the lawsuit.

When Whitman arrived at the scene, she allegedly passed Shiraef’s identification on to Nguyen.

But the plaintiff argues that Nguyen obtained his ID for the casino, so it “could put Shiraef’s information into a database, identifying him as a skilled player.”

Whitman allegedly directed him to follow Nguyen’s instructions because “he has more authority than I do,” and informed Shiraef that he couldn’t leave.

Shiraef began recording the events on his iPhone afterward, according to the lawsuit.

Once Nguyen returned with the ID, he allegedly informed Shiraef that he was suspected for “the possibility of fraud acts,” including “cheating or counting cards,” which could result in an arrest warrant.

Nguyen allegedly described counting cards as “a form of fraudulent activity in the state of Colorado. Fraudulent activity means you’ve done something to lead the casino to believe that you were not playing the games correctly,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit argues that card counting is a legal activity, and “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.”

Representatives for Ameristar Casino Black Hawk, Gaming and Leisure Properties, Nguyen and the city of Black Hawk didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Cmdr. Tory Jantz declined to comment on behalf of Whitman and Chief of Police Michelle Moriarty.

Neither Shiraef nor his attorney Abraham Carpio responded to requests for comment.

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.