Man sues Las Vegas...

[jagfiles]

True alcohol does effect people differently. Years ago I read in a CHP magazine about one motorist who had a blood alchol level of, get this, .65 (that's right and the caption said "This is NOT a typographical error). Yes there were driving and no they didn't get very far.
As for this guy in Vegas even if he does win this case wonder how much legal fees he will pay.

[MadMax359]

my son still holds onto a part time bar tending job in NYC... telling some guy "that's your last one, I can't serve you any more" is a regular part of his job... his boss wants to keep patrons happy but sometimes you have to draw the line... you'd think the casino would have some sort of guidelines

[Nessie]

I actually wasted time researching this and he possibly does have a case for exactly the reasons already mentioned on this thread.

Kinda makes you moan and groan to think about it, doesn't it?

If I was the owner of the casino, I'd be highly tempted to negotiate an out-of-court settlement where I would forgive 90% of the debt (hey, I'd need something for my trouble!) after five years under one lonely condition:

He submits to daily alcohol testing for a full, solid year, and then intermittent alcohol testing for the next 4...and never tests positive.

He slips up by even one drop, and I'd go after the full amount.

Nessie

[Duncan Edwards]

I actually wasted time researching this and he possibly does have a case for exactly the reasons already mentioned on this thread.

Kinda makes you moan and groan to think about it, doesn't it?

If I was the owner of the casino, I'd be highly tempted to negotiate an out-of-court settlement where I would forgive 90% of the debt (hey, I'd need something for my trouble!) after five years under one lonely condition:

He submits to daily alcohol testing for a full, solid year, and then intermittent alcohol testing for the next 4...and never tests positive.

He slips up by even one drop, and I'd go after the full amount.

Nessie

I think that's a great idea. Sounds like he was gambling on credit the casino extended him so they don't have much actual loss anyway.

I've been to Las Vegas several times and the amount of alcohol that flows through the place is staggering. I've never had a drink of any kind so I'm not the best judge of such things but how in the world does any thinking person allow themselves to gamble while their brain is being controlled by something else? I have gambled a little and I'm terrible at it even though I'm stone cold sober. Being fogged up by too much hooch just can't make that better.

[nachtjaeger]

A friend of mine used to be co-owner of a bar in Albany, NY. Back when Breathalyzer technology came out, you could buy coin-operated units for bars, restaurants, etc. As a service to their customers, my friend and his partner put one in their bar. They had to take it out. It was making them a ton of money- the problem was, instead of using it to find out if they were legal to drive- the bar patrons were competing for high score. Morally and legally, they just couldn't support that kind of behavior.

[bbjohn]

A friend of mine used to be co-owner of a bar in Albany, NY. Back when Breathalyzer technology came out, you could buy coin-operated units for bars, restaurants, etc. As a service to their customers, my friend and his partner put one in their bar. They had to take it out. It was making them a ton of money- the problem was, instead of using it to find out if they were legal to drive- the bar patrons were competing for high score. Morally and legally, they just couldn't support that kind of behavior.

It sounds like those patrons are suffering from a serious case of stupidity. Your friend was right to remove the Breathalyzer. As Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does." You don't need to be encouraging someone to be even more stupid than he or she already is.

There were also the legal liability issues. I can see some crafty lawyer telling a jury the bar encouraged patrons to get drunk by having that Breathalyzer in there.

I suspect this isn't the first time a service intended to help people make the right decision turned out to make worse the very problem it sought to fix.

"What fools these mortals be!" - William Shakespeare

-Big Bad John

[bbjohn]

my son still holds onto a part time bar tending job in NYC... telling some guy "that's your last one, I can't serve you any more" is a regular part of his job... his boss wants to keep patrons happy but sometimes you have to draw the line... you'd think the casino would have some sort of guidelines

I'm sure the casino has some guidelines. I've yet to see an establishment that didn't. Most of the large establishments I know of have ongoing training for their drink servers. However, there were probably a lot of people in there at the time, and you likely had a lot of people going in and out. I know the casinos I've seen have more than one bar. Under those circumstances, it would be difficult to keep track of everyone, especially those who show little sign of impairment.

I agree that cutting off a drunk should be part of a server's job. It would be highly irresponsible not to do this (I know of at least one establishment that had its liquor license revoked because they were serving drinks to people who were clearly drunk). I'm also saying it's not always easy to tell if someone is drunk.

A few years ago, we had in my hometown in Arizona a case of a state senator who was arrested with a BAC of .14. She was pulled over for speeding, and the officers were surprised to see she was drunk. They only noticed it because they could smell alcohol in the car and on her breath. She showed none of the usual signs of impairment. What's astonishing is she had her last drink in the state capitol, Phoenix, which was 150 miles away. She drove all the way from Phoenix, mostly on a busy Interstate highway, and she caused no accidents and didn't arouse suspicion from the state police.

It's scary to think of how many other people may be out there who are driving impaired but show no signs of it. This is yet another reason why motorists should concentrate on driving. You never know who you're sharing the road with.

-Big Bad John

[PM2K]

Servers have such responsibilities these days, I'm surprised anyone wants to be one... keeping track of who is drinking what, dealing with drunks who won't take "no" for an answer, and everyone ready to sue for the slightest error in judgment. I know folks who bought drinks for guys who really shouldn't have had them, and in a busy situation, how is the server supposed to know that? Yet it still falls on them if something goes wrong...

Great servers are worth their weight in gold. I was on good terms with one bartender at a place I frequented, and one night I had a few too many and ordered another rye and ginger. He didn't miss a beat, and with a smile handed me a tall glass of plain ginger ale instead, on ice, saying maybe this would be a better way for me to round out the night. I took the hint and enjoyed my last drink of the evening before heading home. He didn't even charge me for it. I tipped him well the next time I popped by.

[Mynock]

This is why the bar scene's lost all appeal to me. There's always some asshole that has to cross the line from funny drunk to stupid drunk and ruin it for everybody. Nowadays I just go grab a bottle of Jack and a case of Yuengling, light the fire pit out back and invite a few friends over. Party all night for $50 (try doing that at a real bar) and nobody has to drive anywhere.