TLDR
- An Iowa blackjack player filed a federal lawsuit against two Lake Charles casinos and several police officers.
- He claims an officer handcuffed him, searched his pockets, and gave his license to casino security.
- L’Auberge allegedly refused to cash his $2,800 in chips without ID, then paid him later that day.
- Louisiana law bars casinos from excluding players only because of their skill level.
- The nine-count suit seeks damages but does not name a total dollar amount.
An Iowa blackjack player has filed a federal lawsuit claiming police in Lake Charles, Louisiana, took his driver’s license and gave it to casino security. Eric Michael Temeyer says the casinos wanted his identity because he was a skilled player.
The suit names Golden Nugget Lake Charles, neighboring L’Auberge Lake Charles, and several police officers. It was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
The complaint lists nine counts. They include Fourth Amendment violations, civil conspiracy, and violations of state law.
A Night at Two Casinos
According to the complaint, Temeyer played blackjack at L’Auberge from about 5 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2025, until 2:40 a.m. the next morning. When security staff asked for identification, he declined.
He then tried to cash out about $2,800 in chips. A cashier allegedly refused to pay him without ID.
Temeyer walked next door to the Golden Nugget, where security again asked for his identification. He declined and was asked to leave, which he did.
Police arrived while he was standing outside his vehicle in the parking lot, the lawsuit says. An officer demanded his ID, and Temeyer argued that police needed reasonable suspicion of a crime to require it.
“That’s not how it works here,” the officer allegedly replied before handcuffing him. The officer then searched his pockets and took out his identification.
The officer handed the license to a Golden Nugget security employee, according to the complaint. That employee allegedly photographed the license, Temeyer’s license plate, and his vehicle.
Temeyer also claims an officer entered his vehicle without consent to check its obscured VIN. At the time, he was being held in a police car.
He was released at about 3:36 a.m. He received no citation and faced no criminal charge.
Chips Paid, Questions Raised
Later that day, Temeyer returned to L’Auberge to cash his chips. A cashier first refused again, but after a phone call, paid him without asking for ID.
“There you go, Eric,” the cashier allegedly said. Temeyer says this led him to suspect his information had been shared between the two casinos.
The lawsuit points to a Louisiana law that bars casinos from excluding people solely because of their skill level. Temeyer alleges the casinos wanted his ID to help ban him as a lawful advantage player, not to investigate cheating or any crime.
Advantage players often use card counting, which means tracking dealt cards to judge when the remaining deck favors the player. Card counting is not cheating, but casinos often remove players suspected of using it. The lawsuit does not directly describe Temeyer as a card counter.
The complaint also raises concerns about casino surveillance databases. These systems can let information about advantage players move between properties and may affect where they can gamble.
Temeyer is seeking compensatory damages, possible punitive damages against individual defendants, and attorney’s fees. The suit does not name a total dollar amount, and L’Auberge had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the original report.
