Cuffed to the pen
A high-roller is suing Aria Resort & Casino and its parent MGM Resorts International after waking up handcuffed to the casino’s security holding pen. He was then told he was in debt $75,000 to the house, despite having “no memory” of racking up the loss.
shades of a ‘Hangover’ movie
The case with shades of a ‘Hangover’ movie emerged Thursday after longtime Aria VIP gambler Michael Duke Thomson filed a federal complaint in the US District Court for the District of Nevada.
According to the complaint, Thomson, 64, said his last memory from a night in January 2024 was leaving the Aria’s high-limit blackjack room “with a few thousand dollars in chips.”
The licensed attorney believes he was drugged, and is accusing Aria of negligent handling.
Arrested over debt
According to reports, Thomson, who lives in a “luxurious San Juan, Puerto Rico, condo” was thrown off the property that January night, and told not to return or he would face arrest.
A day later, however, Thomson was told by his Aria VIP host that he had eight outstanding markers totaling approximately $75,000.
Months later the Aria turned over the markers to the Clark County District Attorney’s Bad Check Unit, according to The Independent. The BCU then charged Thomson in November 2024 with “drawing and passing a check with intent to defraud, and theft of $25,000 or greater but less than $100,000.”
The Aria patron who stated in his complaint he had “a long-standing, pristine history of honoring the credit instruments” at the casino, was arrested in November and released after allegedly paying bail of $15,480.
Aria’s case against Thomson was dismissed in October
According to the complaint, Thomson agreed to pay off the Aria markers “to eliminate the stress of having an open, pending criminal case against him.” Aria’s case against Thomson was dismissed in October after he made full restitution.
The high-roller now accuses Aria of allowing him to gamble while allegedly incapacitated, failure to protect him, forcibly detaining him “without providing any care” and unfairly retaining funds obtained during the event.
Unfamiliar signatures
In his suit, Thomson claims there were discrepancies between the amount he borrowed from the house and his actual wins and losses. The plaintiff alleges he was incapacitated and that signatures on multiple markers “only loosely resemble” the attorney’s own.
Thomson’s suit also alleges “malicious prosecution related to efforts to recover the debt.”
He is seeking a jury trial, “with damages to be determined.”
