Sikhs And Gambling?

[Harmeet Singh]

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/36772.html

Sikh man files suit against blackjack teacher

By Tom Sharpe | The New Mexican

December 23, 2005

An expert card player said he barred an Española

Sikh from his seminar because he suspects he

works for casinos that want to bar people who

learn his method of winning at blackjack.

Guru Sant Singh Khalsa recently sued Richard

Harvey and Richard Brown, doing business as

Mystic Ridge Books or Mystic Ridge Production,

alleging they breached his contract to attend Harvey's blackjack seminar.

"Mr. Khalsa has invested thousands of dollars and

hundreds of hours of time becoming proficient to

a level where he qualifies for the advanced

seminar," says the complaint filed Tuesday in

District Court by lawyer John Aragon of Santa Fe.

"As a result of the bad-faith breach of contract

... Khalsa (loses) his investment and time and

(loses) profits which are reasonably to be expected."

The complaint, which seeks unspecified damages,

says Harvey falsely accused Khalsa of being an

undercover security officer for casinos.

According to Sikh Web sites, the Khalsa Code of

Ethical Conduct -- also known as the Reht Maryada

-- forbids gambling along with stealing and the

consumption of alcohol or drugs.

Neither Aragon nor Khalsa responded to messages this week.

Reached through Mystic Ridge Books' office in

Albuquerque, Harvey called Khalsa a "fool," a

"phony" and a "crackpot." He said the lawsuit

makes him more suspicious of Khalsa's motives.

Harvey said there is no written contract between

him and Khalsa, and he plans to return Khalsa's

money. The class costs $325 plus tax, according

to Mystic Ridge Books' Web site.

Harvey maintains he has the right to ban anyone

from his seminars -- as do casinos and other

private businesses. He said he recently told

Khalsa that if he wanted to take the seminar

planned for Denver in April, he should provide a

photo and identification, but Khalsa did not comply.

Harvey said Khalsa began acting suspiciously

after taking a seminar last year. He said Khalsa

claimed he had come into a lot of money, owned a

"sports-gaming company," wanted to form an

illegal blackjack team with Harvey and tried to

"lure" him to the Taos Mountain Casino.

"He's very well known at the Taos casino, and he

knows damn well that anybody like myself can't go

with somebody who's this flaming exhibitionist

because then I would be identified, and I would

never be able to play blackjack there again."

Harvey, who claims to be "one of the top

blackjack guys in the world," said he developed

his system of winning at blackjack a decade ago

with computer studies, "card-behavior studies"

and "theoretical-math models." He said he has

written several books about his technique, including Blackjack the Smart Way.

When Harvey recently visited a Santa Fe-area

casino, which he would not identify, he said the

pit boss followed him and insisted on dealing to

him. "How did they identify me?" he asked. "Maybe they came to my seminar."

Harvey said some casinos threaten blackjack

experts with violence -- documented by Ben

Mezrich's book Bringing Down the House and a

soon-to-be-released film based on the book, 21, starring Kevin Spacey.

"I've had people follow me onto highways," he

said. "I've had people try to break into my hotel

rooms. I've got to protect myself and my family,

and I cannot allow strange people who refuse to

identify themselves to come into my seminars."

Recently, Harvey said, he became extra suspicious

of Khalsa when he saw a magazine cover with a

photograph of a bearded, turbaned Sikh identified

as an executive with AKAL Security. A company

spokesman said no one named Guru Sant Singh

Khalsa worked there. Harvey said when he asked

Khalsa if he were the same person pictured in the

magazine, Khalsa suggested Harvey thought "all turban people look alike."

"That's ridiculous," Harvey said. "It's not about

turbans. I've been friendly with the guy. ... But

I don't need this crap. It's not kind. It's not

nice. It's uncalled for, and now I'm going to

have to countersue and spend more money because

I'm not going to allow this to go

unanswered.