If Fox's show "The Casino" was staged (as some viewers complain), no one told the Golden Nugget security. They arrested me for trespassing as I was on my way out after dinner there.

After the poker tournament at the Plaza finished for the night, I met a friend who was staying at the Golden Nugget for dinner. We went up to his room briefly so he could check his email, then we went over to the Four Queens across the street to see if another friend was available for dinner (he wasn't -- he was still in a poker tournament there), then we went back to the Nugget and ate at the buffet. When we were done eating at about 10:15, the other friend called and said he was done and on his way over. We left the buffet and went to meet him at the Starbucks in the front of the Golden Nugget. Then I remembered that we hadn't left a tip at the buffet, so we went back to leave the tip. Oops, bad idea.

When we left the buffet again, I was accosted by two Nugget security officers, one in uniform and one plain-clothed. The plain clothed one pulled out his wallet and flashed a badge as though he were a Metro police officer. (Rent-a-cops *love* to pretend they are cops.) He asked me if I had been trespassed at the Nugget before. (Nice work Sherlock! It was on national TV a few weeks ago.) I told him I was just leaving, but he refused to let me leave and had me handcuffed TIGHTLY behind my back. I told him I was at the Nugget visiting a registered guest there, and that I had been invited in the past to play in the poker room.

(In fact, I had been back to the Nugget as many as 10 times since the "trespassing" without incident. I ate at the coffee shop several times, I met with friends and had a couple of business meetings in the hotel rooms, and I played $2-$4 hold'em one night for a couple of hours with some friends who were in town filming a poker show for Fox Sports. One night I saw a show there that included Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller) as a guest on bass. I used the Nugget valet on at least one occasion, and even shared a ride with some friends in a Golden Nugget limosine.)

Well, the I-wish-I-could-be-an-undercover-police-officer security officer was intent on arresting me for trespassing. They forced me up a hidden staircase to the security office and wouldn't let any of my friends accompany me. They made me sit on a flat metal bench and used a second pair of handcuffs to keep me there. Only after I begged did they loosen the handcuffs. I asked them if I could make a phone call and they refused. I waited until about 11:45 before the Metro police showed up (nice response time!). I requested privacy while the police officer questioned me, which did a lot of good, because when he was done he went into the other room full of security officers to call in my info. The police officer wrote up a citation and had me sign it, promising to appear in court at the end of October. Finally I was free to go.

Well, it wasn't the worst arrest experience I've had, but no arrest is a pleasant experience. It was my first arrest alone, and that does make a difference. Most of the time I was thinking through what I was going to do when I got released. Post a story to my website. Contact a lawyer (probably Bob Nersesian, who has represent other card counters arrested in casinos). I'm willing to fight it all the way up to the Nevada Supreme Court. Maybe contact the press. Maybe Fox would be interested in the story, since it is a counterpoint to the critics who say that Fox's show "The Casino" is staged. Whether or not the Nugget security legally arrested me, their actions don't make the casino look too friendly.