MGM not found liable for duty of care towards a man who wagered $25 million
May 23, 2025
A federal appeals court in New Jersey has upheld a lower court's decision, stating that MGM Resorts, along with other US casino operators, are not legally obligated to protect compulsive gamblers from their losses.
Plaintiff Sam Antar brought a lawsuit against MGM in September 2022, aiming to recover approximately $25 million lost through over 100,000 online bets on MGM platforms, including BetMGM and Borgata Online, between May 2019 and January 2020. In January 2020 alone, Antar lost more than $5 million in just 16 days.
Antar accused MGM of violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA), negligence, and unjust enrichment by offering him constant "betting incentives" in the form of casino bonuses, despite knowing he was an addictive gambler.
Antar's Fraud Conviction
In 2022, Antar was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges. He was ordered to return around $650,000 as restitution for betting money he had promised to invest in stocks prior to his initial public offering (IPO). Since then, he has remained free on bail.
In February 2024, a lower court judge ruled that the New Jersey Casino Control Act took precedence over the CFA, which does not require casinos to refrain from or cease encouraging potentially problematic gambling behavior.
"The casino had no legal duty of care towards the plaintiff under common law for negligence," the judge added.
On Monday, a panel of the Third Circuit Court confirmed this decision, emphasizing that courts in New Jersey and across the country have consistently rejected imposing a duty of care on casinos regarding compulsive gamblers.
The panel also determined that Antar was unable to prove that MGM acted illegally and rejected the argument that the operator had "deceived and confused" him by offering VIP bonuses.
"Antar was fully aware that messages from his VIP hosts offering bonuses, credits, and deposit bonuses were exactly what they appeared to be: incentives to continue gambling," concluded the court.
The 'Crazy Eddie' Connection
Antar is the nephew of the discredited electronics magnate 'Crazy' Eddie Antar, who was responsible for the multimillion-dollar Crazy Eddie chain of electronic retail stores.
At its peak, Crazy Eddie was one of the largest consumer electronics chains in the country and went public on the NASDAQ in 1984. Soon afterward, it was discovered that the business was a fraudulent operation, inflating profits and committing widespread financial fraud.
Eddie Antar was arrested in 1992 on federal racketeering charges and served eight years in prison.
Casino personalities, such as Sam Antar and his uncle 'Crazy' Eddie Antar, have made headlines in the gambling world, with the former unsuccessfully attempting to hold MGM Resorts accountable for his compulsive gambling losses. Despite Antar's accusations of deceptive betting incentives offered by MGM, the federal appeals court in New Jersey upheld their decision that the operator did not act illegally. Meanwhile, gambling trends continue to evolve, with casino-personalities' actions shedding light on the industry's standards and potential legal implications.
