Blackjack Champ has been closely following a court battle between a blackjack player named Thomas Donovan and the Grand Victoria Casino a resort in Indiana, USA. Donovan was banned from the casino after he was caught counting cards at the blackjack tables.

Donovan was banned from the casino back in 2006. He filed a lawsuit against the casino in a Marion County court, but the casino won the case. In October of last year, Donovan filed an appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals, fighting for his right to play. He pointed out that neither the casino nor the state of Indiana has any rules against counting cards while playing blackjack, and argued that the casino had no right to ban him just because he was winning.

One month later, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the casino did not in fact have any legal right to ban Donovan for counting cards. The casino responded by claiming that they their establishment is privately owned, and therefore reserves the right to refuse to serve any patron for any reason, but the court dismissed the argument, saying that the state’s gambling laws take precedence over the casino’s decisions.

Unsurprisingly, the Grand Victoria Casino didn’t like the court’s decision, so they stepped the game up a notch, filing a further appeal and bringing the case to the Indiana Supreme Court. The court will hear the casino’s appeal on Wednesday, and a final decision about whether or not the state’s casinos have the right to ban card counters is expected later this week.

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