The MGM Grand in Detroit refused to pay Denise Ezell a $127,000 progressive blackjack jackpot upon discovering she had been flagged for trespassing in 2015. (Image: Detroit Free Press)

Denise Ezell thought she had hit the jackpot of a lifetime last October, when she hit a progressive blackjack jackpot at the MGM Grand Detroit, apparently winning $127,000. But her joy quickly turned to frustration as the casino refused to pay her, citing an incident that had occurred eight years earlier.

Ezell is now suing MGM Grand for the jackpot in the US District Court Eastern District of Michigan, claiming the casino took her business – and her money – for years before refusing to pay her winnings last fall. 

Late Night Blackjack Jackpot Turns Into Nightmare

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, concerns a winning hand that Ezell hit after a friend invited her out for a night of gambling on October 30, 2023. After going to the Motor City Casino, they headed to the MGM Grand around midnight. 

At around 2:30 am and down to her last be, Ezell played one last hand of blackjack, including the optional progressive jackpot side bet that pays based on the combined four-card poker hand made between the player and the dealer. The dealer hit a blackjack with an ace and queen of spades. But Ezell was the big winner, as her jack and king of spades combined to make a four-card royal flush, winning the jackpot.

“It was exuberating,” Ezell told the Detroit Free Press. “We were high-fiving the dealer. He was excited. So were people around me. No one had ever seen anyone win that jackpot.”

That’s when a pit boss came to the table to ask Ezell for identification. About 15 minutes later, another casino employee told her that she was trespassing and asked her to leave, without paying the jackpot.

In her lawsuit, Ezell claims that the casino gave her a number to call its security department. She says that an employee in that department told her that the situation would be resolved.

“Don’t worry about them saying you were trespassing,” Ezell claims the employee told her. “We are going to get you your jackpot.”

However, Ezell says the employee later told her the matter had been escalated beyond his pay grade. Since then, she has attempted to go to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, but was told it could not force the casino. With no other recourse, it seemed that legal action was her only remaining choice.

“We wasted three months trying to get action,” attorney Ivan Land, who is representing Ezell in the lawsuit, told the Detroit Free Press. “They allowed her to gamble there and spend her hard-earned money for eight years, and then, when she hits the jackpot, they run this crap, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be here in the first place?’ We know the casinos always win.”

The MGM Grand Detroit, where Ezell says she has been playing for years. (Image: Jim West/Alamy)

Trespassing Allegations Stem From ‘Panhandling’ Incident

According to Ezell, the trespassing claim stems from an argument she had with her cousin back during a 2015 visit to the MGM Grand. At the time, Ezell says she and her cousin would float each other money when one was losing so they could continue playing together. That night, her cousin refused to give her any cash to play with, leading to an argument. Security thought Ezell was panhandling, and kicked her out of the casino.

According to Ezell, she has never been contacted by the casino to be told she was prohibited from gaming there. Since that time, she says she has regularly played at the MGM Grand without incident.

While Ezell says she doesn’t need the money, she could certainly use it to help her daughter, who is finishing medial school and is carrying heavy student loans. 

“I just thought when you won, they would pay you,” Ezell said. “When you lose, they take your damn money.”

Gamblers Rarely Recover Unpaid Jackpots

This is far from the first time that a casino patron has sued after being denied a jackpot they thought they had won. But gamblers rarely win these lawsuits, as the casinos are often in the right – and frequently have no financial incentive to deny the jackpot, no matter how it may feel to the unlucky player.

Often, these lawsuits are over progressive jackpots, which are largely player funded and continue growing until they are paid out. In other words, if Ezell had not won the jackpot, the casino would have eventually paid a large sum to another player – with money put aside specifically for that prize. 

However, this case does differ in one key way from many of these cases. Often, such lawsuits occur due to malfunctions in slot machines or other electronic games. For instance, a 72-year-old woman in New Jersey filed a lawsuit against Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City after believing she had won a $2.56 million jackpot on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. However, the casino says she never actually won due to a glitch known as a reel tilt, invalidating the result.

Ezell’s case is different, as it seems clear that the hand was a winner and that there is no impropriety claimed in how the bet was resolved. Instead, courts may have to determine if she was truly trespassing at MGM Grand Detroit, and if she was, whether that should invalidate the jackpot.