Scott Robbins Drops $1.25 Million Borgata Lawsuit after Casino Settles Out of Court

07:33
06 Oct

Scott Robbins has dropped his $1.25 million lawsuit against Borgata Casino after reaching an out-of-court settlement with the Atlantic City resort.

The Massachusetts live tournament pro was handed a lifetime ban earlier this year after a receptionist overreacted to banter during checking-in, reporting him to the authorities as a suicide risk.

The dismissal filing states:

“In this matter all claims having been amicably adjusted by and between the Parties, it is hereby stipulated and agreed that any and all claims, cross-claims, counterclaims, and third-party claims asserted by or between the undersigned parties be and are hereby dismissed with prejudice and without costs."

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Massive Overreaction

This story has been covered across most poker media outlets, much of it ignoring the massive overreaction made by Borgata employees.

Looking back, the majority of the reporting focussed on criticising Robbins for making an inappropriate joke. The disproportionate response by Borgata management deserves much more discussion.

We reached out to Scott Robbins to clarify exactly how he was treated on that day, and it looks like Borgata has questions to answer. A joke about jumping from a window might not be funny to some people but this cannot be described as outrageous behaviour deserving of removal from the property.

Not only were three armed security guards and two emergency medical technicians sent to Robbins’ room, Borgata management also reported what he said during checking in to the state police department. How can this not be described as an overreaction?

Robbins was then forced onto the gurney and humiliatingly wheeled through the casino on the way out in full view of the other patrons.

The fact that this was also to cost Robbins thousands of dollars in costs was just another slap in the face during the turn of events.

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Settled

Many readers will be delighted to hear that Scott Robbins forced a settlement after being bullied in such a way. All of this could have been avoided if a member of staff with an ounce of common sense had taken the time to assess what was really going on.

There was also a language barrier with the receptionist which no doubt contributed to the sudden escalation. Surely this confusion could have been cleared up quickly, not to mention that the reception area was busy with people who could hear the conversation between Robbins and the receptionist.

Unfortunately, rather than seeing an opportunity to put this behind them, saving any further embarrassment, Borgata has persisted with a bullying attitude, trying to bribe Robbins into accepting a watered down deal if the ban is overturned.

This is no small detail, as Robbins is based in the north east of the country and Borgata is the closest card room where major events are played. As a professional live tournament player, this would mean Robbins will lose the majority of his opportunities to play for the big bucks unless he is prepared to travel more extensively.

Robbins told PokerTube:

“I am not allowed to return to the Borgata property which is also an issue that is disgraceful. They made three offers to me. The first was for less than half of what we settled for and they said they would pay me less than half what they paid me, but that they would lift the ban.”

In the end, Robbins decided to accept the ban as he was upset at the way it was being used as a bargaining chip. He thinks he should either be classified a real suicide risk or not, but this should have no bearing on any settlement. The casino no doubt fully understands what really transpired now.

Robbins also faced criticism for the amount of the lawsuit in comparison to his career record. He clarified that the figure was calculated by his legal team using a standard method in such lawsuits.

He says he never sought to “get rich quick” using the legal system, he only wanted to make a point about how big casinos “want to throw around their control/power arbitrarily“.