Poker player Scott Robbins has dropped his lawsuit against popular gambling operator Borgata. The poker pro from Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against AC casino for an estimated $ 1.25 million after Borgata slapped him with a lifetime ban last year. Robbins filed his lawsuit in July after being booted from the well-reviewed property over a suicide joke that he made as he was checking in.
In September 2020, Robbins made a poorly timed suicide joke as he was checking in at the front desk. As the employee was checking the poker pro into his reserved room, she asked whether the player would prefer a room on a lower level floor or one on the higher floors. The Massachusetts pro then replied with this question: “If I had to jump from a high-floor window, would I make it?”
Alarmed at the statement, the front desk employee then proceeded to plead with Robbins not to do anything drastic such as jumping out of the window. Robbins claims that he assured the employee that he was making a joke and that he had no intention of jumping. As he was doing these, Robbins made an additional joke: “What if he jumped from a room on the lower floor, would I survive?”
Ultimately, the front desk employee gave the professional poker player a room on the 30th floor but things took a turn for the unexpected. Upon getting to his room, Robbins was approached by an armed security officer who informed him that he was required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation by the hotel if he wanted to continue with his stay.
Robbins complied and was taken to the local hospital by ambulance. After his evaluation, he was deemed to not be a danger to himself. However, Robbins had not been informed that he would have to cater to his hospital bill himself, which consequently cost him $2,000. Things got a lot more interesting.
Upon returning to his room, Robbins discovered that all his belongings had been removed from the premises. The casino management later informed the player that he had been issued with a lifetime ban, which is what prompted the poker professional to file a suit against New Jersey’s highest-grossing brick and mortar casino. Robbins stated that the hotel staff had no reason to believe that he would commit suicide as the windows in Borgata are purportedly more than 1-inch-thick and incapable of opening and closing.
According to the poker player, he settled on the $1.25 million after calculating his losses for the next decade. Robbins claimed that as a result of the lifetime ban, he would end up losing $85,000 each year in poker earnings and an additional $200,000 in possible sponsorship money. The player also added $200,000 to the total amount for false imprisonment, libel, as well as interference with prospective financial earnings.
After filing the suit earlier this year, it appears that the 2 parties have settled. Because there is no formal filing that has been made with the District Court of New Jersey, it implies that the poker player dropped the case willingly. Based on reports from a local poker forum, Robbins was offered 2 settlements by Borgata to choose from.
The exact details of the settlement were not disclosed, however. Throughout his fairly successful career, Robbins has amassed tournament winnings totaling $417,325 dating back to 2018. The last tournament he attended was the 44th $600 no-limit hold’em tournament that was held in Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood.
Even though the issue has been settled out of court, it is unclear whether Borgata will allow Robbins back into the premises. According to Robbins, filing the suit was something he had to do to make a point as he felt that the hotel staff misunderstood his joke because English was not their native language. Robbins sought the services of well-known attorney Frederic Goetz, who described Borgata’s actions as uninformed and impulsive.
What we cover
WPT Online Borgata Poker Tournament already concluded
The WPT Online Borgata Poker Open Tour has been concluded, having debuted on September 19th The $3,500 buy-in tournament was offering participants an opportunity to walk away with a piece of the $1 million guaranteed prize pool. The online poker tournament was held in conjunction with the World Poker Tour and BetMGM and was concluded on September 21st.
The inaugural event was accessible through Borgata Poker, Partypoker NJ, and BetMGM Poker. In the end, Orson ‘Borgatcha’ Young emerged as the winner of the Main Event defeating a field of 305 entries to walk away with his first WPT Title and the impressive cash prize of $195,748. The 10-day event ended up offering players a small overlay, with participant buy-ins only managing to contribute $976,000 to the final prize pool.
The Main Event in which Orson emerged victoriously lasted 3 days. This was the first tournament that the poker player from New Jersey has performed so impressively in. His last tournament took place in 2014 during the Empire State Hold’em Championships, where the player took home $64,641 from the $1,100 buy-in event. All cashing players from the first day of the tournament eventually went home with at least $5,615.
Borgata has been dominating the New Jersey online poker market for a while now so it is not surprising that the WPT Online Borgata Poker Tournament was such a smashing hit. While the Caesars brand is still the top revenue earner in the Garden State, especially as it regards online poker, Borgata’s brands, including BetMGM NJ, Partypoker NJ, as well as Borgata NJ, are performing extremely well. In the future, poker players should expect more tournaments and events from BetMGM and World Poker Tour.
Final Thoughts
Now that the lawsuit has been settled, both Borgata and Robbins can now focus on a much brighter future. Moving forward, hosting more tournament series such as WPT Online Borgata Poker Tournament will undoubtedly be a critical aspect of Borgata’s strategy as the operator looks to dominate the fast-growing online poker market in the country.
