Denise Ezell, a seasoned gambler, was pleased after winning $127,000 playing progressive blackjack at MGM Grand Detroit on October 30. But her pleasure quickly faded when the casino refused to pay her the money she had won because she was supposedly trespassing, she claimed.
In an interview with FOX 2 Detroit, Ezell claimed she was unaware the casino had blacklisted her. She filed a legal case against MGM Grand Detroit in June. Ezell, 65, also described how she felt when she won the $127,000 jackpot.
“I was like, ‘oh my god, I won! Oh sh–!’ Excuse my French,” she said. “It was exhilarating. I was down to my last bet, actually.”
Ezell and a companion had paid an unscheduled visit to the MGM Grand Detroit on the specified date. After hitting the jackpot, security approached her and asked for her license. During that period of enthusiasm, the 65-year-old Detroit native remembers formulating plans for how she would use her money.
Ezell, who has been working full-time since 14, stated that the sum she earned will help her daughter, pay off debt, and provide for her family.
However, the thrill faded when a casino employee returned to speak with her. She said the employee told her, “‘Well Ms. Ezell, we unfortunately won’t be paying you.’” “I’m like ‘What the f-,’” Ezell told FOX 2 Detroit. “I don’t want to say that on TV, but I was like ‘What?’”
Security at MGM Grand warned Ezell that she was trespassing due to her claimed involvement in a panhandling incident from 2015. Ivan Land, Ezell’s attorney, stated that the alleged event resulted from an argument between the 65-year-old and her cousin in the casino. Land stated that the dispute between Ezell and her cousin was over money, and the 65-year-old was instructed to remain away from the casino for 24 hours.
Ezell told the news source she was unaware she had been barred and had visited MGM Grand on many occasions since 2015. “She didn’t receive an email, mail, telephone call,” Land claimed. “She had no knowledge that she was banned from this casino, and I don’t believe she was banned from the casino.”
Ezell has not visited the casino after the October 30 incident. She also filed a lawsuit after she couldn’t find a solution with MGM. “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?”
“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 also told the Detroit Free Press. “We know the casinos always win.”