And how does EVERY bust out not get refunded? So I paid $560 to enter a tournament with a chance at a top prize of $20k? Or 50k if i busted pre 27? maybe it means 70k each for 27? But still....The trip costs more than $560...and this is not what we signed up for....i knew deep deep down the borgata would not do right...i have seen their ways

So I guess we are to infer from this that Lusardi was a 'lone gunman', acting alone.

"If you have any questions or wish to confirm eligibility to receive these payments, please call 609.317.1000 and ask for the Winter Poker Open Hotline to speak to a Borgata representative knowledgeable about this matter."

Borgata might want them to, but they don't have to sign. Borgata not complying with the order of the Division would be a violation of New Jersey regulations. And the order mentions no such requirement.

Just to clear up the clause about Day 1A for people who are interested -

"All entrants who played Tuesday, January 14th
in Day One-A beginning at 10 am will receive a refund
of $560, with the exception of those entrants who played in the Event Center and busted out prior to
4:30 pm, as those entrants could not have come into contact with Lusardi or any of the counterfeit
chips he allegedly introduced."

I called to ask specifically about Day 1A because I fired two bullets that day. After reading this clause I thought since I played prior to 4:30 that I would not be getting a refund. But it is actually the other way around. They determined Lusardi busted out at 4:30 and my entry from 10am is getting refunded, but my rebuy that happened after 4:30 is not iligible. So to clear it up for anyone still wondering, if you played day 1A before 4:30 pm you will get a refund for that, if you played after 4:30 you will not.

it does not mean that, they get only 20k.
so no fines for Borgata, no one fired?
Borgata is saying they were only ordered to pay out the 1.4 prizepool but are paying back the vig as a nice gesture

well he was told sign waiver or no payment so I guess we will see

a percentage of the 27 are extremely happy with the outcome I'd imagine

I played on day 1b. They told me I will not get a refund because I wasn't in the same area as lusardi. Suing them for everything now.

just called and they informed me I am only getting refunded 1 of the 5 bullets I fired.

so now I know what the final 27 must feel like

Obviously the remaining 27 need to sue the borgata for the amount that came out of the prizepool for refunds due to borgatas negligence. I think it's a pretty slam dunk case to be honest, but this is just the process that you have to go through (litigating) in today's world.

However at this point, 1/27 basically has the same value as 27/27 any way this plays out from here...

It is like Borgata and NJGE attempted to piss off everyone involved, mission accomplished.

I can't tell you if a lawsuit would stand a chance. But I do know one thing: you don't need to sign to be entitled to your $$$. Do not sign until you've seriously considered all legal options.

consulting with a lawyer should cost nothing. i don't have a clue if we have a strong case or not. this is, of course, unprecedented and the DGE has the weight of law....we would likely be arguing that the DGE ruling is "unfair" rather than it violates such and such statute, etc.

i thought someone was going to get screwed in this decision (didn't think it would be the 27 frankly) and from the beginning i thought if Borgata paid any money out of pocket on top of a DGE ruling it would be for public relations purposes and not out of fear of player legal action. i dunno, we'll see with what the lawyers say.

IMO, this is where the top guys of the game should step up. there is always concern about bringing casual players into the game and now there should also be fear of chasing casual players out of the game. will be curious to see if any of the "ambassadors" of the game express any outrage on twitter. a few Negreanu tweets would likely be more effective in getting Joe Lupo and friends to properly compensate the final 27 than any threats of litigation

Nick Guagenti ‏@quadfours_kin 5m
Having emailed and received a response from Joe Lupo borgata VP. Decision is final borgata has washed their hands of the situation

This is a most telling exhibit. Everyone 10th place and below should be happy. Final Table, not so much. But...... there was still a lot of play left and who knows who would make it to that Final Table. We will never know.

Sorry if this comes off as badly timed trolling, but this part literally made me lol. Are you serious?

Borgata is wide open for litigation. Hence why they updated the waivers you sign before all tournaments moving forward.

Just because the gaming commission ruled one way (having to do with state laws) has nothing to do with your implied contract with the borgata when participating in an event. That's between you and borgata, and they didn't honor their side of the contract by providing a safe and secure environment to play, blah blah blah.

Ill bet you can find a lawyer to do it for a piece of the action....

Edit: I'd talk to a lawyer before I even deposited the check they send. Even though others ITT have said its unrelated, I'd hold it til I got advice from my lawyer on the issue.

i hope you're right

I would recommend the remaining 27 do the following:

1. While I doubt your check will have any release language on it, I would not cash the check if it does. I would then file a complaint with the dge as the order says nothing about a conditional payment. Otherwise, i would cash the check.

2. You guys should communicate and determine if you can agree to a structure for a settlement and hire the same attorney. First, a strength of all of you bringing a claim is that the damages are not speculative for group as they are for each individual. Second, you can negotiate for a lower % fee and share in the expenses. Third, to avoid creating a conflict in one attorney repping all, an icm agreement will create a situation where benefiting one parties interests will not be at the expense of another.

3. The DGE order does not absolve the Borgata from its potential negligence but as I posted before, I am unsure if there is a strong negligence claim given the known facts.

The ruling is awful.

I can see this from more than one perspective. On the surface, yes - the 27 are getting shafted.

However, if play had not been affected, then who knows what the actual outcome might have been (in terms of who cashes and for how much)? No way to tell.

In terms of the 27 - only the top 9 would have gotten more than the payout being given. The rest would have received less. And who knows what would have happened if play had continued? Nobody!

Big stacks might, or might not, have gone on to the final table. Small stacks might have gone out early, but might have chipped up and made the final table.

We'll never know. It's a bad situation all around. I can't tell if this is a "fair" judgment or not. I'm not sure what would really qualify as one, actually. How does one define "fair" in a situation with so many unknowns?

Lee

Hmm - an ICM ruling would mean that 18 of the 27 get SMALLER payments. Doubt that they would agree to this.

The rest - it's speculative as what the end result would be. Who knows what the final table lineup would have been. Reality is nobody will ever know.

Lee

**** that lawyer up man.

Why do gaming regulatory agencies even exist when they're so inept?

Once again, who cares about the remaining 27? They used FAKE chips to make it that far!! The only ones getting shafted are people who are NOT receiving refunds. It's a joke.

Can anyone post up a list of law firms capable of handling this for plaintiffs.

So they used fake chips to make it that far and it is fine for them to get screwed, it was ruled that you were not harmed by the fake chips but you deserve a refund.

Really great logic.