The Rainmaker statue at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Photo by Mark Brenan
Three gamblers who were accused of cheating the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut have lost another decision in their lawsuit. Cheung Yin Sun, Long Mei Fang and Zong Yang Li deposited $1.6 million into their accounts at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in December 2011. They proceeded to win another $1.148 million by playing a mini-baccarat card game. But the casino refused to pay the winnings or return the money in the accounts, according to the lawsuit. The gamblers admitted to "edge sorting" the cards used during the game but they say the practice is not illegal under tribal law or state law. The lawsuit, however, never got resolved on the merits or even on any significant procedural issues like tribal sovereign immunity. A federal judge ruled that the gamblers never properly served the papers on any of the tribal defendants. The gamblers appealed and cited another case from Arizona in which casino employees of the Tonto Apache Tribe are being sued for failing to pay winnings allegedly owed to patrons. That case, known as Pistor v. Garcia, involves a federal law known as 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which is the same one at issue in the Foxwoods case. But the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday said it didn't need to address that case or any tribal immunity issues. Instead the court again confirmed that the gamblers never properly served their lawsuit on the defendants. Cheung Yin Sun, the lead plaintiff, was recently featured in a lengthy New York Times Magazine story about patrons who engage in techniques like "edge sorting." She has won and lost millions of dollars at casinos around the world, according to the profile. Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Sun v. Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise. Read More on the Story:
Dismissal of gamblers' suit against Foxwoods upheld (The New London Day 10/6) 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Decision:
Sun v. Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise (October 5, 2016)
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