Bob Nersesian, a Las Vegas lawyer, was recently interviewed in a lengthy YouTube piece by BlackJack Apprenticeship. The video, "Taking a Stand Against Casinos," has already racked up 23,582 views as of Saturday, March 25.
At one point, the interviewer, Colin (no last name), asked the lawyer flat out: "Is card counting ever considered illegal?"
Nersesian answered: "Hasn't been that I have been able to find."
In fact, Nersesian says that the Supreme Court of Nevada has said three times it is not cheating. He describes card counting as skillful betting.
"... casinos are allowed to use their skills to make money, and they are the stellar citizens of Nevada. But a player who uses his skills should be persecuted. Isn’t that a curious perspective?"
Card counting has been defined as a strategy to determine whether the player or the dealer has an advantage on the next hand. Card counters keep a running count of high and low-valued cards dealt. The strategy revolves around increasing the bet size when the player has an advantage and less otherwise.
Huntington Press says that Nersesian has made millions of dollars worth of verdicts against casinos. These were in customer suits against casinos. They say this makes Nersesian the most active litigator in this area of law.
What Nersesian Says
Bob Nersesian is flamboyant about the points he makes surrounding gambling and gamblers' rights. He was in an hour-long video interview with Blackjack Apprenticeship to promote his 2016 book, The Law for Gamblers, A Legal Guide to the Casino Environment. The interview covered a variety of subjects including
- teamplay (whether it's legal),
- casino mistreatment of advantage players (which is what card counters call themselves)
- casinos stealing chips (from players, and whether they can legally do this)
- refusing IDs
- withholding cashouts (whether casinos can legally do this)
- $3K Vegas cashout limits requiring IDs
- fighting trespasses in court
- police demanding identification
- civil forfeiture
- rights at tribal casinos
- fighting for constitutional rights
The interview is probably worth watching for any professional or near-professional gambler. But for most people, just the idea that card counting is not illegal is probably novel. This interview might show them just to what extent casinos have gone in infringing the rights of casino patrons who show skill against them.
*********************************
Don't forget to hit the "Thumbs up" button and also the "Follow" button below. You can also download the Newsbreak app to become a Registered Follower. That way you can see all my prior articles. Click on the link underneath my profile name above.
Mark R. Hake, CFA, writes articles on national and local news, stocks, and market events at InvestorPlace.com, Barchart.com, Medium.com, and Newsbreak.com as well as TalkMarkets.
Comments / 2