Tuesday, April 13, 2010 | 1:56 p.m.
CARSON CITY – After a nine-year legal battle, professional gambler James Grosjean will receive a settlement from the state for up to $65,000 on his allegation he was held illegally by two state gaming agents in a Las Vegas casino.
The state Board of Examiners on Tuesday approved the out-of-court settlement for Grosjean, who in April 2000 was detained, handcuffed and searched by Imperial Palace security guards at the request of state agents.
Grosjean filed suit against the Imperial Palace and won a $400,000 judgment. The judgment in punitive damages was reduced to $150,000, with $99,000 in compensatory damages.
The Nevada Supreme Court last year voided the $150,000 in punitive damages and ordered a new trial, but left the $99,000 intact. That trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 2 in Las Vegas.
Grosjean is an author of various books on how to beat the casinos and has been inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame.
In the 2000 incident, he was detained by casino security and two agents of the control board for 45 minutes because he matched the description of a person another gaming agent was interested in finding. The $65,000 settlement was to cover the complaint against agents Anthony Vincent and Phillip Pedote.
In his legal actions, Grosjean complained this was part of a conspiracy to exclude professional gamblers from playing at the casino.
The search turned up a large sum of money, chips from various casinos and two sets of identification, one of them false. Grosjean was released without any criminal charges being filed.
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