{"id":177713,"date":"2021-06-25T14:59:53","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T21:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=177713"},"modified":"2021-06-25T16:07:23","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T23:07:23","slug":"blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackjack Players Who Sued Massachusetts Casinos Over \u2018Illegal\u2019 Odds Learn House Always Wins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blackjack players who sued the Encore Boston Harbor<\/a> and MGM Springfield<\/a> in Massachusetts ended up with a busted hand at the Supreme Judicial Court this week.<\/p>\n

\"blackjack\"
The court noted the game\u2019s odds are clearly printed on each blackjack table (pictured) at the Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield. (Image: Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The plaintiffs argued the casinos were paying out worse odds than state regulations allowed, thereby illegally increasing the house edge. All had won games at odds of 6\/5, rather than the more customer-friendly 3\/2.<\/p>\n

But they claimed it was illegal to offer 6\/5 blackjack in Massachusetts and the casinos should have paid out at 3\/2.<\/p>\n

As the lawsuit noted, with an average bet of $50 per hand, a customer could be expected to lose an additional $35.60 per hour playing 6\/5 compared to 3\/2.<\/p>\n

The math is even more disturbing when you multiply this average expected loss by five players per table, by 20 tables offering the crooked Blackjack game at any given time, and by 24 hours the casino is open each day,\u201d the suit contended.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThis means Encore is stealing $85,440.00 from its customers each day, or well in excess of $30 million each year,\u201d it claimed.<\/p>\n

Typo in the Rulebook<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But their argument did not add up to 21, according to the court. A panel of judges ruled Wednesday that the gamblers knew the rules when they sat down to play, and they could not use the judicial system to adjust their winnings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey played at tables requiring smaller bets and paying out a winning \u2018blackjack\u2019 at six dollars for every five dollars bet (6:5), rather than three dollars for every two dollars bet (3:2) as at the more expensive tables,\u201d the panel wrote in its ruling. \u201cThe plaintiffs sat down at tables with the basic rules and 6:5 payouts printed on the felt of the table, were dealt blackjacks, and won.<\/p>\n

We conclude that the plaintiffs understood the rules and the stakes, and that deference is due to the commission’s interpretation. Therefore, the plaintiffs lose this last bet,” <\/strong>the ruling continued.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The case arose from a misprint in the Massachusetts Gaming Commission\u2019s (MGC) rulebook, which appeared to confuse a standard blackjack game paid at 6\/5 with a blackjack variant named “6\/5 blackjack.” It is the latter game that\u2019s banned under state regulations, not the former.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs argued this created ambiguity in the rulebook. Casino.org<\/em> delved into the somewhat complicated specifics of the error here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Case Tossed Like a Dud Hand<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The ink was barely dry on the rulebook when the plaintiffs filed their case against the casinos, which in 2019 had not been open for long. Since Massachusetts had never offered legal blackjack before, some confusion about the rules was perhaps understandable.<\/p>\n

But the MGC has explicitly stated in response to the lawsuit that standard blackjack with 6\/4 odds is legal in Massachusetts. Following an investigation, the regulator found both casinos had been compliant with the rules.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The court noted that the MGC had revised its regulations in October 2020, and so the point was now moot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blackjack players who sued the Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield in Massachusetts ended up with a busted hand at the Supreme Judicial Court this week. The plaintiffs argued the casinos were paying out worse odds than state regulations allowed, thereby illegally increasing the house edge. All had won games at odds of 6\/5, rather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":177714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBlackjack Players Lose 'Illegal Odds' Case Versus Massachusetts Casinos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Blackjack players lose case against Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court tossed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blackjack Players Lose 'Illegal Odds' Case Versus Massachusetts Casinos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Blackjack players lose case against Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court tossed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/\" \/>\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=\"2021-06-25T21:59:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-25T23:07:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blackjack.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\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\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/\",\"name\":\"Blackjack Players Lose 'Illegal Odds' Case Versus Massachusetts Casinos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blackjack.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-25T21:59:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-25T23:07:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Blackjack players lose case against Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court tossed.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/blackjack-players-lose-illegal-odds-case-versus-massachusetts-casinos\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blackjack.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blackjack.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The court noted the game\u2019s odds are clearly printed on each blackjack table (pictured) at the Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. 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