New Jersey’s Supreme Court has ruled against Ocean Casino Resort, stating that the Atlantic City casino is not entitled to payouts from business interruption insurance for losses during the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the operator’s claims, it has enjoyed positive financial results, successfully rebounding from the pandemic and maintaining its position as one of Atlantic City’s leading venues.

The Operator Failed to Present a Convincing Argument

The case involved Ocean Casino Resort’s claims against three insurance companies: AIG Specialty Insurance Co., American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Co., and Interstate Fire & Casualty Co. These insurers mostly denied payouts, asserting that the casino did not suffer direct physical loss or damage due to the virus. Ocean Casino Resort initially defeated an attempt by insurers to dismiss the case, but an appellate court later reversed that decision.

The New Jersey Supreme Court subsequently took on the case to settle the legal question of what constituted loss or damage. According to its unanimous decision, the company had to demonstrate a direct physical loss or damage to its property, rendering it unusable or uninhabitable. Since the aftermath of COVID-19 failed to meet this criteria, Ocean Casino was not eligible for a payout.

At most, it has alleged that it sustained a loss of business… because it was not permitted to use its property as it would otherwise have done.

New Jersey Supreme Court statement

This ruling aligns with decisions in various state and federal courts nationwide, which denied insurance claims related to business interruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar cases involved movie theaters in California, a real estate firm in Los Angeles, hotels in Pennsylvania, and a law firm in New Jersey.

Atlantic City Has Largely Moved On from the Pandemic

Despite Ocean Casino Resort’s claims, the high-profile venue has mostly recovered from the pandemic and is enjoying an impressive resurgence. November 2023’s financial results revealed that the casino posted $48.1 million in total gaming revenue in October, up 52.6% compared to the same month in 2022. 

Even without the insurance funds, Ocean Casino Resort is well-positioned to capitalize on gambling’s growing popularity in the USA. The region has achieved an impressive balance between land-based and online operators, allowing physical venues to focus on bettors seeking a more comprehensive leisure experience, particularly the VIP crowd. 

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision can benefit the sector in the long term, reaffirming US regulators’ overall stance on this matter. It is high time operators moved on from the pandemic to focus on the future, seizing new opportunities and focusing on providing customers with the best possible experience.

The post NJ Supreme Court Rules against Ocean Casino Resort in COVID-19 Insurance Dispute appeared first on Keno Wizard.

A common saying goes that “lightning never strikes the same place twice” but not for a 31-year-old woman from Maryland who managed to win big twice within less than 12 hours.

Pink Is the Lucky Number

A nursing assistant and a mother of four, the woman who wished to remain anonymous and played under the name of Chicklet31, first cashed out $11,000 from Ocean Downs Casino she had visited after her late night shift.

Having left the casino at around 1am, she decided to buy a scratch card ticket from the Maryland Lottery the next day and visited a local convenience store located in her hometown of Princess Anne around noon, where she opted for a pink-colored Extreme Cash game ticket, which later won her the top $100,000 prize.

Speaking to the Maryland Lottery, the woman explained why she had bought that ticket and there was not a single drop of logic in it. “I just bought that scratch-off because it stood out to me and pink is my favorite color,” she stated.

She even joked that her luck was due to the same set of clothes she had been wearing in the casino and while purchasing the instant scratch card.

“‘Chicklet’ becomes the 60th top-prize winner in the $100,000 Extreme Cash scratch-off game and is the game’s third top-prize winner in the last two weeks,” Maryland Lottery officials stated, adding that the convenience store where the winning ticket was sold would receive a $1,000 bonus.

Chicklet is planning to use the unexpected windfall to visit her son who lives in China and to further her education so that she could advance in her professional career.

Other Recent Multiple Wins

The Maryland Lottery was involved with another double-win in the state scored by a 56-year-old Amazon employee from Baltimore who managed to win big twice within just two months.

In February, the lucky scratch card player won the top $50,000 prize available from the $5 scratch card game Crazy 8s, to boost his January winnings of $30,000 from the same $5 scratch card lottery game.

And while multiple wins in a row are rare but not unheard of, what did a Vietnam veteran of Fall River, 50 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts, would probably never happen again.

In December, the man decided to buy not one but six Lucky for Life tickets with the exact same combination of numbers, won a cash prize of $390,000 from each, and received nearly $2 million in one lump sum from five of the tickets while leaving one ticket to pay him $25,000 in twenty annual payments.

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