{"id":323887,"date":"2024-06-27T18:15:07","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T23:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=323887"},"modified":"2024-06-28T09:00:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T14:00:01","slug":"mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/","title":{"rendered":"MGM Grand Detroit Sued for Refusing to Pay $127K Progressive Blackjack Jackpot"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Michigan woman who won a $127K jackpot playing progressive blackjack at the MGM Grand Detroit<\/a> is suing the casino after it refused to pay out and instead accused her of \u201ctrespassing.\u201d That\u2019s despite the plaintiff playing at the casino \u2013 and mainly losing \u2013 for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

\"MGM
Denise Ezell, above, believes she won the jackpot fair and square and the casino should pay up, especially since it has been taking her money for years without a quibble. (Image: Ivan Land via Detroit Free Press<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denise Ezell, 65, visited the casino on October 30 last year with a friend to play at the progressive blackjack tables. This is a game where players can place a side bet in the hope that their two cards will combine with the dealer\u2019s in a way that triggers a jackpot.<\/p>\n

On the hand in question, Ezell held the jack and king of spades with the dealer showing the ace and queen of spades \u2013 a four-card straight flush that qualified for a big payout.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It was exuberating,” Ezell told The Detroit Free Press<\/em> Thursday. “We were high-fiving … The dealer \u2013 he was excited. So were people around me. No one had ever seen anyone win that jackpot.”<\/p>\n

\u2018Panhandling\u2019 Claim<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But when Ezell provided her driving license as ID, casino management told her she wouldn\u2019t be paid because she was trespassing on the property. Instead, she was asked to leave.<\/p>\n

It turns out that Ezell had been 86\u2019d from the casino in 2015 after being accused of \u201cpanhandling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Ezell says the incident was a misunderstanding. She had been arguing with her cousin, who had refused to float her some cash when she started losing, as was the prearranged agreement when they gambled together, she claims. But casino security thought she was pestering a stranger for money, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As she left on that occasion, Ezell asked the security guard \u201chow long does this last?\u201d She was told \u201cmaybe 24 or 48 hours,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n

She received no notification from the casino, either by email, phone call, letter or text message, that she was not welcome on the property, the filing claims.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the meantime, Ezell has been back hundreds of times, and the casino was always happy to take her money, she says.<\/p>\n

\u2018They Take Your Damn Money\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the days after her \u201cwin,\u201d she called the casino and spoke to an employee who told her, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about them saying you were trespassing, we are going to get you your jackpot,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

But when the employee called her back, he explained the matter had escalated \u201cbeyond his paygrade.\u201d<\/p>\n

I just thought when you won, they would pay you,” Ezell said. “When you lose, they take your damn money.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The MGM Grand said it had not yet been formally served with the lawsuit when contacted by the Free Press<\/em> on Thursday and was not able to comment.<\/p>\n

Ezell described the casino\u2019s reason for not paying the jackpot as \u201cbull***t.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Michigan woman who won a $127K jackpot playing progressive blackjack at the MGM Grand Detroit is suing the casino after it refused to pay out and instead accused her of \u201ctrespassing.\u201d That\u2019s despite the plaintiff playing at the casino \u2013 and mainly losing \u2013 for more than 20 years. Denise Ezell, 65, visited the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":323888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,86430,84511],"tags":[91490,82508,82103,86693,91491],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMGM Grand Detroit Sued for Refusing to Pay $127K Blackjack Jackpot<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Denise Ezell won a $127K progressive blackjack jackpot at the MGM Grand Detroit but casino won\u2019t pay because she was thrown out in 2015.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MGM Grand Detroit Sued for Refusing to Pay $127K Blackjack Jackpot\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Denise Ezell won a $127K progressive blackjack jackpot at the MGM Grand Detroit but casino won\u2019t pay because she was thrown out in 2015.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-27T23:15:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-28T14:00:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Denise.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1078\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/\",\"name\":\"MGM Grand Detroit Sued for Refusing to Pay $127K Blackjack Jackpot\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Denise.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-27T23:15:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-28T14:00:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Denise Ezell won a $127K progressive blackjack jackpot at the MGM Grand Detroit but casino won\u2019t pay because she was thrown out in 2015.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/mgm-grand-detroit-sued-for-refusing-to-pay-127k-progressive-blackjack-jackpot\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Denise.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Denise.jpg\",\"width\":1078,\"height\":810,\"caption\":\"Denise Ezell, above, believes she won the jackpot fair and square and the casino should pay up \u2013 especially since it has been taking her money for years without a quibble. 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