Suicidal Drug Addict Blackjack Croupier Sues Casino for Negligence
Just Say No
A mentally unbalanced drug addict and former blackjack dealer is suing her former casino employer for negligence
An Australian 32 year old female blackjack dealer, croupier and table supervisor is suing Casino Canberra, alleging that her employer has been negligent in protecting her safety and further destroyed her already unstable mental health.
The woman, who no longer works at the casino, claims that her former employer caused her to develop panic attacks and audio-hallucinations.
She contends that she could have also developed a post-traumatic stress disorder following a horrible incident which occurred as she was dealing blackjack at the casino, which she claims scarred her for life.
The woman admitted to ACT Supreme Court during cross-examination that she ‘enjoys smoking meth-amphetamines, marijuana and taking ecstasy pills.’ The casino employee claims that she went to work dealing blackjack card games going through drug withdrawals ‘a couple of times’ but was quite sober on the day of the incident.
She stated that while she was counting the blackjack float, a thief grabbed two handfuls of $100 chips and made a run for the door. The incident took less than a second.
Her negligence lawsuit is based on her belief that a lack of security guards by her blackjack table caused the casino chip thief to get away. The casino states that the thief walked away and never ran and thus was not immediately spotted by the casino security.
The former blackjack dealer admitted that she has long suffered from depressive bipolar disorder and witnessing the theft ‘left her psychologically shattered and suicidal.’ She was diagnosed with an acute anxiety disorder shortly after the incident which followed a week-long drug binge.
She claims to hear voices, suffers night terrors during withdrawal symptoms so acute that she now sleeps with a knife under her pillow.
”So I thought in my head if I could actually set up my bedroom with the knife under my pillow, perhaps the knife might be there in my dream and I might be able to access it in my dream for protection,” she said yesterday.
The casino’s lawyers raised the small possibility that the use of powerful cocktails of ecstasy and meth-amphetamines along with her pre-existing lifelong mental health problems may have caused her to almost experience post-traumatic stress.
The meth smoking blackjack cards dealer contends that she informed her casino supervisor that she suffers from an array of mental illnesses following the theft and no longer feels safe when dealing blackjack.
She told the court she felt more secure with the casino’s regular players at the high-roller baccarat than on the rowdier pontoon or low-bet blackjack tables. She attests that she asked her supervisor repeatedly for a transfer but was denied.
Upon returning to work her casino shift, she claims that an intoxicated blackjack player insulted a nearby dealer and became aggressive after the victim asked him not to curse at the dealer. She stated that the menacing blackjack player told her that he will cross a divider separating the pair.
The casino’s lawyers pointed out that this was the first time the former dealer ever mentioned the verbal threat. Casino security cameras showed the court recorded footage of the alleged intoxicated casino patron being thrown out by three burly security guards who were at hand.
According to casino gambling news, a few days later the disheveled blackjack dealer checked into Calvary Hospital’s private mental health facility with suicidal tendencies. She told the court that she has trouble remembering things and experiencing difficulty focusing.
When asked on cross examination if she was still smoking methamphetamines, the twitchy alleged victim replied that she ‘had not deliberately’ taken drugs since 2008. The casino’s lawyers introduced evidence of dozens of psychiatric hospital visits over the past three years which were linked to the woman’s use of crack cocaine, methamphetamines and ecstasy.
The hearing will continue on Thursday, so stay tuned for more drama and excitement from the Australian court of Master David Harper.