Borgata Faces New Lawsuit in Counterfeit Poker Chip Scandal

Six poker players filed suit against Atlantic City’s Borgata Casino this week over prize money not paid when a tournament was cancelled due to the discovery of counterfeit chips.

The suit was filed in the Supreme Court in Atlantic County on Tuesday with news of the action first surfacing in the New Jersey press two days later.  The six New Jersey residents are each asking for $33,756.44.

It's the second suit filed in connection with the canceled tournament, which had 27 players left from a starting field of more than 4,800 when the Borgata Winter Open was called off.

If the remaining competitors had been allowed to split the $1.43 million in prize money, each would have received $53,079.44, Jeff Goldman of the Newark Star Ledger reports.

The Borgata instead opted to give each player $19,323.

Ultimately, North Carolina resident Christian Lusardi was implicated in the counterfeit chip scheme.  He attempted to flush the chips down the toilet of an Atlantic City hotel.

Customs agents found more than 37,500 pirated DVDs and equipment used for pirating DVDs after they raided Lusardi's Fayetteville, N.C home in February.

- Ace King, Gambling911.com