Man Ejected From Casino Because Of B.O.
Posted July 31, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Michael Wax wants an apology. But don’t bet on his getting one.
The 54-year-old limousine manager was in an Atlantic City casino on Tuesday gambling his hard earned money. Wax had been at a table for 17 hours straight and the 440 lbs. man complained he didn’t have time to attend to his personal hygiene before setting out.
As he went to use the restroom at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, the establishment regular was followed discreetly into the men’s room by a manager. What he was told floored him. His fellow gamblers were apparently upset by his rather distinctive and unpleasant body odour and the casino was asking him to leave the premises.
Wax doesn’t deny he wasn’t exactly as fresh as a daisy that night. “There’s no question I stink,” he states bluntly. “I’m not denying it. I do have an odour. I’ve been playing for 17 hours.”
He tried to retake his seat at the table where he’d been playing, but management refused to allow him to return and he was ordered to leave in front of his fellow gamblers. He then asked if they’d give him the use of a hotel room to freshen up but the answer was an adamant ‘no.’
Frustrated, the Brooklyn man left the complex, steaming mad and smelling of more than just fury. He’s now filed an official complaint with the Casino Control Commission, which has promised to examine whether any laws or regulations were broken.
The entire issue, while bizarre, raises the questions of when people’s hygiene can become grounds for refusing to serve them. And as this case shows, there are no easy answers.
Still, Wax thinks he deserves one and wants to go back to the hotel with his dignity restored. Why doesn’t he just go somewhere else to blow his dough on games of chance? The veteran bettor claims he likes the Borgata and there’s no reason he shouldn’t be allowed to go there.
And he insists he’s not mad that they told him he smells – he just believes they shouldn’t have embarrassed him in front of other patrons. “I would like an apology,” he states firmly.
So far, there’s been no resolution to the impasse and Wax vows to raise a stink if he doesn’t get some kind of satisfaction. Which unfortunately is how the whole thing started in the first place.
File photo
