Iowa blackjack player sues Louisiana casinos and police over alleged information sharing

LAKE CHARLES · An Iowa man is suing two casinos and several police officers in Lake Charles, Louisiana, alleging they conspired to obtain and share his personal information. Eric Michael Temeyer filed the federal lawsuit on November 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The complaint names Golden Nugget Lake Charles and L’Auberge Lake Charles as defendants alongside law enforcement officers. It alleges violations of constitutional rights, civil conspiracy and breaches of state law. The lawsuit states that Temeyer played blackjack at L’Auberge from the evening of November 2, 2025, into the early hours of the next morning. When he tried to cash out roughly $2,800 in chips, a cashier refused payment unless he showed identification, which he declined to do. He then went to the nearby Golden Nugget casino, where security also asked for his ID and instructed him to leave after he refused.

Police approached Temeyer in the Golden Nugget parking lot as he stood by his vehicle, according to the complaint. An officer demanded his identification, and Temeyer argued that police needed reasonable suspicion of a crime to compel it. The officer allegedly responded, "That's not how it works here," before handcuffing him. The officer then searched Temeyer's pockets, took his driver's licence and gave it to a Golden Nugget security employee, who photographed the licence, his car and its licence plate.

Temeyer also claims an officer entered his vehicle without permission to check its vehicle identification number while he was held in a police car. He was released without any charge or citation shortly after 3:30 a.m. Temeyer later went back to L’Auberge, where a cashier initially again refused to pay him without ID but then did so after a phone call. The cashier said, "There you go, Eric," which Temeyer alleges shows the casinos had already shared his personal details.

The lawsuit contends the casinos wanted Temeyer's identification because he was an advantage player, a skilled gambler who uses legal techniques like card counting. It cites a Louisiana law prohibiting casinos from excluding patrons "for reasons based solely on the skill level of the person." Temeyer alleges the aim was to exclude him as a lawful advantage player, not to investigate any crime. The complaint expresses concern over casino surveillance databases that can circulate information about such players between properties. The nine-count lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, potential punitive damages against individual defendants and attorney's fees. It does not specify a total monetary demand.