Prisoner Prevented from Suing USA Today over Gambling Odds

In a highly unusual court case a Pennsylvania Superior Court panel threw out what was called an “utterly frivolous” lawsuit brought by a prison inmate who claimed the USA Today newspaper ruined his illegal gambling operation in prison.

Alton Brown tried to sue Larry Kramer, the newspaper’s former publisher and president. He blamed Kramer for USA Today’s decision to stop publishing Las Vegas betting odds and other gambling data relating to sports events. Brown said that he needed this information to run his bookmaking operation in prison.

Gambling by prisoners is forbidden by the state Department of Correction but Brown still tried to sue Kramer for breach of contract based on the fact that the gambling odds printing stopped soon after he subscribed to the paper. Brown had appealed to the court after a Huntingdon County judge also dismissed the case.