Judge throws out $1.5M unshuffled cards decision

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A case pitting a casino against gamblers who won $1.5 million in a game with unshuffled card decks is heading toward trial.

The gamblers had realized the mini-baccarat cards hadn't been shuffled and were coming out in a specific pattern. The Golden Nugget casino doesn't want to pay them and wants to collect more than $500,000 it already paid.

In June, an Atlantic County Superior Court judge had ruled that the April 2012 game was illegal under state casino rules and said the casino didn't have to pay.

But a different judge granted a motion July 25 to reconsider the decision. Judge Allen Littlefield says that the gamblers can continue the discovery process and argue their case at trial this fall.

A lawyer for the casino wasn't available to comment.

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