The strange tale of the Las Vegas high roller who claims he was drugged during a December 2021 gambling foray at the MGM Grand Mansion high-limit salon just got a little less cloudy.
Attorneys for multimillionaire Dwight Manley filed documents on Thursday in a federal lawsuit claiming the tranquilizer ketamine was slipped into Manley’s old fashioned cocktail and he wound up signing multiple “this-trip-only” credit-limit extensions up to $3.5 million while playing blackjack. Manley, a three-decade patron of MGM, gambled for three hours before becoming so groggy, he could barely stand.
He was served six cocktails in three hours, according to the court filings. Manley swears he doesn’t recall requesting a second or third credit increase in his condition, which was so erratic that it drew the attention of security. At one point, he broke an ashtray and cut his hand.
MGM Grand has consistently denied it acted improperly and asserts that Manley has yet to present any evidence that he was drugged. The case is being presided over by U.S. District Chief Judge Miranda Du.
In a 24-page response to MGM’s motion to dismiss the case, Manley’s attorneys Paul Hejmanowski and Charles McCrea mention for the first time an expert report filed on their behalf by former MGM President and Chief Operating Officer Danny Wade, who they say was “instrumental in adopting the policy when he was President of the MGM.” Wade is a well-known name in the gaming industry, especially on the Strip. For now, the challenge is that what he said in his report remains under seal and out of reach of the public.
The filing also reveals what stacks up to be a battle of hired medical, behavioral, and law-enforcement experts on both sides, each bringing a wealth of professional experience, but reaching contradictory opinions on the reported presence of ketamine in Manley’s system and his behavior on the afternoon in question.
The filing also unloads a series of articles that, if not exactly on point in the civil case, highlight a troubling trend in recent years of Las Vegas visitors, especially women, having their cocktails drugged while they’re partying in casino bars and nightclubs. The results, as one article from former Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Jane Ann Morrison poignantly portrays, are often tragic. Date-rape drugs, spiked drinks, sexual violence — ugly stuff.
It hits an emotional nerve whether or not it gains traction in the courtroom.
Manley’s medical experts include Dr. Michael Sucher, a veteran physician and expert witness who performed the hair test on the plaintiff that “concluded to a reasonable degree of medical probability that Dwight Manley was poisoned with ketamine in the early afternoon of December 10, 2021, at the MGM Grand Mansion.”
The defense, led by Lawrence Semenza III and Katie Cannata, counters with its own formidable expert, Dr. Daniel Overbeek, in a rebuttal report that concludes, “Based on the information provided in these reports, my professional opinion remains that there is nothing to indicate that Mr. Manley experienced ketamine intoxication on December 10, 2021. None of the effects witnessed in the videos and described in the reports are specific to ketamine, and there is no evidence based on the behaviors in the video that indicate anything other than alcohol consumption. The hair drug testing does not localize the date of potential exposure and was also positive for ketamine and norketamine in the baseline sample, which also adds additional certainty.”
Despite ample expert professional experience on both sides of the case, there also appears to be a fair amount of medical speculation present in the conflicting reports. Perhaps that’s to be expected in a case filed in November 2022. Manley made headlines when he offered $500,000 for information that would help prove he was drugged.
Exhibits in the filing roll on from there and include discussions of the corporate best credit practices and the Techniques of Alcohol Management Server/Seller Participation Manual, a rule book for anyone in the service industry who dispenses alcohol.
Read the filing and you’ll be forgiven for wondering whether casino companies on the Strip and beyond are beginning to watch this litigation closely.
