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."