The Nevada Gaming Control board turned down an appeal by two gamblers who said casinos in separate cases deprived them of what should have been their winnings, totaling $12,500.
LaJarrius Hall asked the Board to overturn a decision by a hearing examiner to deny payment of his $8,900 with the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Hall argued that MGM improperly added a third game to what he intended as a two-team parlay wager in April 2025, causing his bet to be graded as a loss. Hall said that while attempting to make a parlay wager on the San Diego Padres (-165) to beat the Oakland Athletics in Major League Baseball and Florida (-115) to beat Houston in NCAA basketball, the MGM ticket writer at MGM errantly added a wager for the Los Angeles Dodgers (-185) to beat the Washington Nationals in baseball. Hall claimed he didn’t intend to wager on the Dodgers versus the Nationals and the bet was made in error by the ticket writer. The Dodgers lost to the Nationals, with a score of 6-4, rendering Hall’s ticket a loss. Hall argued that the wager should be reduced to a two-team parlay and paid as such.
Recorded video surveillance provided by MGM to the Board as part of his investigation revealed that three separate bet numbers were input into the system by the ticket writer at the direction of Hall, who was shown to have taken a photograph of the ticket with his cell phone and didn’t request any changes.
In the second case, Rebeka Ranglova requested an appeal of a decision to deny $4,500 payment of a blackjack outcome with Eldorado Resort & Casino in Reno in November 2025. She wasn’t permitted to double down after she split her hand, which ultimately resulted in the hand being cancelled by Eldorado staff, eliminating her opportunity to win the hand.
The casino said Ranglova attempted to double down on a version of blackjack paying 3-2 on natural 21s, wherein the table rules didn’t permit it. Eldorado provided game rules, stating that doubling down on split hands may not occur in blackjack games offering the 6-5 payout on blackjacks, which Ranglova was playing.
Ranglova placed two separate wagers for $1,500 each. She was dealt 3-3 and split. On the first split, Ranglova was dealt a 6 and wanted to double down on her 9. Eldorado disallowed it as against the rules of the 6-5 game.
When Ranglova protested, she was given an ultimatum by the staff: She could either finish the round without doubling down in accordance with the house rules or have the hand canceled. Ranglova refused to finish the hand, staff called the hand dead, and Ranglova’s wagers were returned. There was no way to determine whether Ranglova would have won or lost the hand and, therefore, what the amount of winnings, if any, would have been, the hearing officer said.
