Unlucky Winner
When seasoned gambler Denise Ezell, 65, won a $127,000 jackpot playing progressive blackjack at Detroit’s MGM Grand last October, she was ecstatic. “It was exuberating,” she told Detroit Free Press, adding that everyone around her, including the dealer, was celebrating. “We were high-fiving… No one had ever seen anyone win that jackpot.” But her joy was short-lived. After checking her ID, staff at the MGM Grand informed Ezell she would not receive a dime of her six-figure pot. They then accused her of trespassing and claimed she had been banned from the casino since an alleged panhandling incident in 2015. “I was like, ‘oh my god, I won! Oh sh–!’ Excuse my French,” 65-year-old Ezell said. “It was exhilarating. I was down to my last bet, actually.”
As chance would have it, Ezell scored the $127,000 motherlode from her final bet of the night on October 30, 2023. She was playing progressive blackjack, a game where players can place a side bet in the hope that their two cards will combine with the dealer’s in a way that triggers a jackpot. In her hand, she held the jack and king of spades. The dealer showed the ace and queen of spades, landing Ezell a rare four-card straight flush, which won her the mega payout. “I just thought when you won, they would pay you,” Ezell said, reflecting on the drama since her win. “When you lose, they take your damn money.” Her attorney Ivan Land shared a similar sentiment when explaining why the 65-year-old had to sue the casino company. He said they spent three months seeking alternative options for resolution — including going to the state gaming board and reaching out to the casino’s legal team — but no one would make them pay.
Attorney Land said Ezell had not been alerted about her ban by email, phone call, letter or text message. The pair also dispute the panhandling allegation at the heart of this saga, with Ezell claiming she was arguing with her cousin about some cash and not soliciting a stranger for money. Attorney Land described MGM’s treatment of Ezell as “just not fair.” “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?’” Land said. “We know the casinos always win.” Ezell, who earns a living wage working for the state of Michigan doing administrative work, had big plans for her windfall. She wanted to become debt free and help her daughter, who is finishing up medical school, to pay off her six-figure student loans. “When I go and lose, nobody asks for my license, what my name is – none of that,” Ezell said. “But I win and all this?”
“Lucky” Gamblers
Gambling addiction hotlines would be so much better if…
Every fifth caller was a winner.
My girlfriend says she’s going to leave me because I have a gambling problem.
But I think she’s bluffing.
I sold all my body parts to feed my gambling addiction.
Maybe I should quit while I’m a head.
They say one out of every seven friends has a gambling addiction.
My money is on Jimmy.
June 4th Birthdays
1987 – Fahriye Eucen, 1991 – Katherine Prescott, 1975 – Angelina Jolie, 1944 – Michelle Phillips
1992 – Quincy Brown, 1989 – Bradley Walsh, 1975 – Russell Brand, 1976 – Alexei Navalny,