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Michael Duke Thomson’s last memory was of walking out of the high-limit blackjack room on January 23, 2024. Aria Resort & Casino In vegas around midnight with “a few thousand dollars” worth of chips.
His next memory was of waking up the next morning, handcuffed to the casino security wall, pen in hand and a $75,000 debt on the house, with a felony Danger The charges – later dismissed after Thomson made full restitution – have yet to come.
Thomson, a licensed attorney, says he was a longtime Aria patron with “pristine” repayment records, now believes he was secretly drugged that night vegasAccording to a federal lawsuit filed and received Thursday IndependentThomson’s complaint alleges that the 64-year-old man’s apparent disability “would have been obvious to anyone,” but no one at Aria bothered to intervene,
It accuses Aria of “failing to take any steps to ensure” [Thomson’s] security,” and instead “he was allowed to continue gambling and then forcibly detained without any care.”
“It’s unequal for Aria to maintain [Thomson’s] The amount of money which was purchased and held in the circumstances described above,” Complaint State.
But Thomson, who now lives in luxurious San Juan, Puerto Rico, Kondo also argues that Aria has not provided adequate answers about what happened to her that night in Vegas. In addition to outlining the most basic of the apparent series of events, Thomson’s complaint states that “[a]Will give more information regarding [Thomson’s] The conditions and circumstances of his detention…are within the exclusive knowledge, custody and control of Aria and MGM, and are not provided.
a spokesperson for MGM Resorts InternationalAria’s parent company and a co-defendant in Thomson’s lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Thomson, whose attorneys also did not respond to requests for comment, said the area “has a long history of conservation,” according to his complaint. Additionally, it says, Thomson has “a long-standing, ancient history of honoring the credit instruments” known as “markers” that they execute there.
“On the night of January 23, 2024, Plaintiff was playing blackjack in the high-limit room of the casino,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff remembers drawing a marker that night for $10,000.00. He paid the marker on the table that same night on January 23, 2024.”
Thomson was staying at the Aria and remembered leaving the blackjack table at midnight and intending to go back to his room, the complaint continues.
The next thing Thompson knew was that he was awake, handcuffed.
“Plaintiff was told by casino personnel that casino security had found him sleeping in the Sky Suite Lounge, and when casino security guards woke him up he allegedly attacked the security guards and was then taken into custody,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Thompson was escorted from the property and told not to return or he would face arrest. It states that at that time no one said anything to Thomson about any outstanding marker.
The next day, Thomson reached him vip host At Aria, the complaint states, “to interrogate her about what she knew” about her unfortunate experience. The host told Thomson that he had eight outstanding bets at the casino, totaling $75,000, but that there was “a discrepancy” between the money he borrowed and his winnings and losses.
According to the complaint, Thomson said he was concerned about the marker balance and asked for more information but got none.
About three months later, Thomson’s bank called him to say aria The complaint states that $75,000 worth of markers were deposited for payment. However, it argues, because Aria management “had not yet addressed [Thomson’s] Concern regarding his alleged outstanding balance with Aria, [he] instructed its bank not to pay direct marks until [Thomson] He would conduct his own investigation, which he did by contacting Aria again for more information.
The complaint states that while Thomson was still trying to get to the bottom of things, his bank returned the markers to Aria. The complaint said the bank had marked five of them as “not authorized” and the remaining three as “NSF” for “not sufficient funds”.
“Plaintiff has no recollection of the apparent markers being taken out,” Thomson’s complaint states, adding that the markers were allegedly taken down between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. on January 24, 2024. Aria.”
At this point, the area changed markers. Clark County District Attorney’s rogue investigative unitWhich in November 2024 charged Thomson with drawing and passing a check with intent to defraud and theft of $25,000 or more but less than $100,000.
According to a review of local court records from the criminal case, Thompson was arrested and bail was set at $10,000. (Thomson’s civil complaint states that he was actually forced to pay $15,480 to be released from custody.) After months of negotiations and a trial date eventually being set, Thomson agreed to pay Aria Markers “to eliminate the stress of an open, pending criminal case against him.”
The case was dismissed in mid-October local docket show,
Thomson, according to his complaint, thinks he was “intentional.”[,] “The drug was administered surreptitiously on the night of January 23 or the morning of January 24, 2024, rendering him completely incapacitated.”
According to the complaint, Aria “failed to act responsibly toward Plaintiff when it continued to allow Plaintiff to gamble, did not seek medical treatment for Plaintiff, and executed Plaintiff’s credit instruments.”
To that end, Thomson argues that the markers are invalid and unenforceable and should be revoked in light of Aria’s “violations.”[ion] Regarding his duties “to impact responsible gaming.” Allowing Thomson to borrow so much money while remaining unaware of his surroundings “ensures everything.”[ed] Aria has the opportunity to earn extra money [him]“The complaint states.
“In the alternative, Aria accepted Direct Markers with forged signatures and did not verify that the Direct Markers were signed by Plaintiff,” it says.
Thomson’s lawsuit states that Aria has been “unjustly enriched” by unfair means, and accuses the casino-resort of malice in pressing criminal charges “in spite of it.” [his] “Efforts are underway to resolve the situation.”
He is demanding a jury trial, in which damages would be determined in court. aria and mgm has not yet filed a response to Thomson’s allegations.