Lawsuit Filed Against Maker of “Skill Games” Betting Machines After Armed Robbery-Shooting of Low-Wage Neighborhood Store Clerk Forced to Handle Large Cash Payouts
First lawsuit from a Philadelphia Skill-Game Robbery follows $15.3 Million Verdict in similar incident
PHILADELPHIA, March 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky yesterday filed a product liability and negligence Lawsuit on behalf of a seriously wounded, overnight convenience-store worker against several defendants, including the manufacturers and distributors of the “skill game” video betting terminals that lined the store. The lawsuit is believed to be the first such filing in a Philadelphia County, Skill-Game robbery. It follows the Firm’s $15.3 Million verdict resulting from a deadly Skill-Game robbery in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
The lawsuit seeks to hold accountable “skill game” machine designer-manufacturer, Banilla Games, Inc. for intentionally and recklessly sacrificing a Philadelphia worker’s safety and security in the name of profits from the controversial slot-machine-style games that pose risks to the community, asserts the complaint. Twenty seven-year-old clerk Ahmedein Maham was shot in the face at close range in the armed robbery on September 14th, 2025.
(Philly Market, Exterior: Law Firm Photo / Alleged Assailant Fleeing Scene: Philadelphia Police Photo)
Besides North Carolina-based Banilla Games, Inc., the local store-operation defendants who failed to have adequate security for betting operations are: Bridge Market and Wireless (2990 Bridge St.), Philly Market, and Eman Realty. According to the complaint, “From a security perspective, the store was not properly guarded or secured, was unreasonably dangerous, and was unsafe for its invitees and the public at large. The defendants’ decisions in failing to ensure the premises was safe, secure, and controlled, was a negligent, grossly negligent, careless, and reckless act, and caused Mr. Maham’s devastating injuries.” Mr. Maham (Right: Law Firm Photo) was rushed by EMTs to Temple University Hospital for emergency, life-saving medical treatment; he is still recovering from his gunshot wounds and the emotional effects of the horrific and preventable incident. His assailants remain at large after robbing the store for the skill-game money.
Attorney Robert W. Zimmerman, on behalf of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, said after the filing, “These ‘Skill Game’ makers place their machines in stores that do not have the safety and security measures necessary to run a casino operation. We allege that these betting machines have led to deaths and serious injuries to low-wage workers, and pose a direct threat to every community that they enter. Casinos are required to have proper security and strong safety measures to protect workers and the public. The cowards who shot Mr. Maham knew that this store lacked those safety measures, and that he was an easy target responsible for a large sum of betting cash on site.”
John Lang, an attorney at the Firm added, “These unregulated and unlicensed betting machines are magnets for violent crime, all too often resulting in horrible injuries or deaths to innocent workers trying to provide for their families. Violent armed robberies related to these games have, unfortunately, become a far-too-common occurrence in Pennsylvania and other states where the manufacturers find ways to avert regulation. The gambling machine defendants are out to make as much profit as possible, while literally putting workers in the line of fire.”
The Firm has been at the forefront of representing innocent convenience-store workers forced to “manage” the “skill game” machine payouts – who have become easy prey for criminals. In the most recent case to go to trial that attorneys Zimmerman and Lang tried last November, a Philadelphia jury awarded $15.3 million to the estate of Ashokkumar Patel, a mini-mart clerk shot and killed in a 2020 armed robbery at the Hazelton store in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
The complaint alleges Banilla’s failure to design and manufacture its machines with safety features that were known and have been available for decades, including the use of ticket redemption terminals that handle payouts like an ATM and keep store workers safely out of the money management and payouts.
Contacts:
Robert W. Zimmerman / rzimmerman@smbb.com / 215-575-3898
Steph Rosenfeld / steph@idadvisors.com / 215-514-4101
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/524cdfb7-cf4f-4e66-aff5-dfbaeca7a0a8
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bb74c2ff-7b86-47ff-9714-3b229959122f
Lawsuit Filed Against Maker of “Skill Games” Betting Machines After Armed Robbery-Shooting of Low-Wage Neighborhood Store Clerk Forced to Handle Large Cash Payouts
First lawsuit from a Philadelphia Skill-Game Robbery follows $15.3 Million Verdict in similar incident
Lawsuit Filed Against Maker of “Skill Games” Betting Machines After Armed Robbery-Shooting of Low-Wage Neighborhood Store Clerk Forced to Handle Large Cash Payouts
First lawsuit from a Philadelphia Skill-Game Robbery follows $15.3 Million Verdict in similar incident
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