Did MGM Grand Spike Gambler’s Drink With Ketamine to Increase His Losses?

A high-roller gambler is suing the MGM Grand, alleging that staff spiked his drink with ketamine, and the casino then took advantage of his drugged state to make him lose $3 million. A judge has ruled that California businessman Dwight Manley has sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.

Manley first filed the lawsuit against MGM in November 2022. He alleges that while gambling at the MGM Grand in December 2021, his drink was spiked with ketamine. Following this, his behavior became increasingly erratic, and he racked up huge losses playing blackjack.

Manley has produced evidence of a drug test that showed he ingested ketamine. Furthermore, a doctor asserted it was likely on December 10, 2021, the day he became incapacitated while gambling, according to his suit. 

Judge Miranda Du rejected MGM’s motion for a summary judgment in the case, stating that the weight of evidence requires a jury.

Gambler’s Incapacitated State Leads to Huge Losses

Rather than intervene when he displayed clear signs of being out of control, MGM increased his credit from $1 million to $3.5 million. This credit limit had been in place for 10 years.

He claims staff should have recognized he was incapacitated and stopped his gambling, or at the very least, not offered credit extensions. He also says they should not have continued serving him alcohol when he was clearly already intoxicated.

His lawyer says the casino staff’s actions go against its own policies. Its responsible beverage service policy says staff should not knowingly serve alcoholic beverages to a visibly intoxicated patron. Additionally, they should not knowingly permit a visibly intoxicated patron to gamble.

MGM argues that he is using the ketamine story as an excuse to avoid paying his gambling debt. Court transcripts revealed the company’s lawyer, Lawrence J. Semenza, said the test covered a two-month period, including extensive time when Manley was back in California. Semenza added that there is no evidence that Manley was drugged.

Manley’s lawyer, Paul Hejamanowski, argued that “there really is no factual dispute about Mr. Manley having been drugged the afternoon in the MGM casino.”

Manley Collects Evidence

Manley sent a message to his casino host the next day, saying, “I think someone must have spiked a drink.“

He also filed a police report and contacted his lawyer. He later hired a private investigator and took out 14 billboards in Vegas, offering a $1 million reward for information on who drugged him. The billboards urged anyone with information to contact him through a website he set up.

His legal team also tried to collect evidence of other MGM Grand patrons being drugged. His lawyer said, “We tried to get the records from the MGM of how many times somebody said they were involuntarily drugged in the casino. They fought me on it. They wouldn’t allow me to get it.”

Despite this, he managed to obtain reports of 11 others claiming they were drugged by staff at the casino. In addition, his lawyer referenced a case of two women being drugged by a bartender at the Aria casino across the street from the MGM.

Another gambler at the Aria has filed a lawsuit against the casino. Michael Duke Thomson similarly alleges that he was drugged and that casino staff took advantage of his incapacitated state to issue lines of credit worth $75,000.