Mississippi Casino In $75m Lawsuit Over Gambler's Death

A Mississippi casino is currently facing a hefty multi-million dollar bill after a federal judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit accusing the gambling venue of serving so many free drinks to a heavily medicated man that he later collapsed and died. The incident took place at the IP Casino Resort and Spa in Biloxi back in August 2009, with the $75 million lawsuit subsequently being filed in 2012 by the man’s family in the U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
The victim, Bryan Lee Glenn, 30, had apparently been taking an array of painkillers and antipsychotic drugs to treat his ailments stemming from a car accident in 2004, which left him with a traumatic brain injury, and another automobile accident in 2007, which left him with an injured back.
At the time of the casino incident, apparently Bryan Lee Glenn had just received a $15,000 check from a previous lawsuit settlement and after a visit to the IP Casino Resort and Spa, started ordering two drinks at a time and wagering as much as $1,000 a go at blackjack. In their lawsuit, his family claims Glenn started falling down drunk but when they asked the casino to stop serving him, they were given the reply by a pit boss; “He’s old enough to make his own decisions.”
The lawsuit then goes on to explain that after his friend and family eventually convinced Glenn to leave, a dealer pointed out to him that he still had chips and said; “Aren’t you going to come back and play?”
Glen then continued gambling and drinking, and after the family returned to the casino having dropped a family member home, Glen had apparently been escorted from the premises by security. When his family later went to his room at the IP Casino Resort and Spa in Biloxi, they then found  him “half in the bathtub, facing the toilet with his pants around his ankles,” according to the lawsuit.
Despite Boyd Gaming’s subsequent attempt to have the case dismissed in September, U.S. District Judge Halil S. Ozerden has now declined to dismiss the motion on account of the allegations the casino served Glenn alcohol when he was drunk. The company had previously argued in their court records that; “Mississippi law is abundantly clear that one injured as a result of his own voluntary intoxication has no viable claim against a casino which served him alcohol.”