The Iowa Appeals Court has overturned a district court ruling that kept a man banned from a casino from collecting thousands of dollars in winnings. Tory Blackford won just over $9,700 in May of 2006 while gambling at the Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona.
Prairie Meadows however refused to pay Blackford, as the casino records showed he had been involuntarily and permanently banned from the casino. Blackford claimed the ban had been lifted, but casino administrators said their records showed the ban had not changed and they confiscated his winnings and donated them to charity.
Blackford sued to get the money back. The district court upheld the confiscation of Blackford’s winnings, saying that was the intent of the law — even though the law does not mention confiscating winnings of someone who was involuntarily banned.
The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled the district court was wrong in ruling that Prairie Meadows would not be required to pay winnings to a person involuntarily banned based the right to do so for someone who was voluntarily banned themselves from a casino.
The Appeals Court also said while the casino has the right to eject someone from the premises, there is no prevision for what happens to that person’s winnings if they return to the casino after being kicked out.