A man is suing Aria Resort Casino and its parent company after waking up in a security holding area in handcuffs and being told he owed the casino $75,000, despite having no memory of how the debt was incurred.
Michael Duke Thomson, a 64-year-old licensed attorney and longtime Aria player, said his last memory from January 23, 2024, was leaving the high-limit blackjack room with a few thousand dollars in chips.
He says he next woke up the following morning in a Las Vegas casino security holding pen, handcuffed and facing tens of thousands of dollars in gambling debt from markers he does not remember signing.
According to his federal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Thomson later learned from his VIP host that he had eight outstanding markers totaling about $75,000. He claims there were discrepancies between the amount borrowed and his recorded wins and losses.
The lawsuit (via The Independent) alleges Thomson was incapacitated that night and says signatures on several of the markers “only loosely resemble” his own.
Lawsuit claims negligent handling
Thomson’s complaint accuses Aria and MGM Resorts International of allowing him to continue gambling while allegedly incapacitated, failing to protect him, and unjustly retaining funds obtained under those circumstances. It also alleges malicious prosecution related to efforts to recover the debt.
The suit argues the markers should be considered invalid or unenforceable due to his condition at the time, or alternatively that some signatures were forged. Thomson is seeking a jury trial, with damages to be determined.
Thomson was later charged in November 2024 with drawing and passing a fraudulent check and theft tied to the markers, though the criminal case was dismissed in October 2025 after he made full restitution to the casino.
Aria and MGM Resorts have not yet filed a public response to the lawsuit, which was filed in December 2025.
