MGM Settles Ketamine-Spiking Lawsuit Involving Dennis Rodman’s Former Agent

Posted on: April 21, 2026, 07:13h. 

Last updated on: April 21, 2026, 07:13h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • MGM settles lawsuit over alleged drink spiking in VIP casino
  • Agent claims ketamine exposure led to $2 million gambling loss
  • Judge allowed case to proceed before confidential settlement reached

MGM Resorts International has settled ahead of trial with a high-rolling sports agent who claimed his drink was spiked with ketamine in December 2021 as he gambled in the VIP mansion linked to the MGM Grand.

MGM Resorts, Dwight Manley, MGM Grand, ketamine, Las Vegas lawsuit
An image of Dwight Manley in the 1990s when he was an agent for NBA stars like Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone.mHe claims he was drugged before losing $2 million playing blackjack. (Image: Robert Lachman/Getty)

Dwight Manley, 60, who managed Dennis Rodman in the 1990s, claimed in a lawsuit that VIP staff raised his line of credit to $3.5 million after he became disoriented, allegedly from the effects of the drug, which led to him dropping $2 million in casino markers playing blackjack.

Manley later hired a private investigator to find out who had allegedly drugged him and splashed out on a billboard campaign in Las Vegas offering a $1 million reward to anyone who could provide information.

Behind Closed Doors

The settlement was decided at a confidential hearing on Monday in the US District Court in Nevada. Neither party is disclosing the sum involved, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The hearing came after Judge Miranda Du denied MGM’s attempt in March to have the case thrown out.

In determining the case should go to trial, Du said the plaintiff had “offered evidence to create a genuine issue of fact that the cocktail he was served by defendant’s employee was poisoned such that he was incapacitated at the time he entered into the credit instrument at issue.”

Exclusive Mansion

Manley, a longtime VIP guest of MGM Resorts, had been invited to stay at the ultra-exclusive MGM Mansion – an Italianate-style retreat packed with works by Picasso and Matisse. For the trip, VIP services even arranged a private jet for him and his friends.

On December 10, at around 1:30 p.m., he ordered an Old Fashioned that he thought tasted unusually bitter. He finished it anyway and requested another. According to the lawsuit, he soon began feeling disoriented.

At one point, he broke a glass ashtray and cut his hand, bleeding onto the gaming table. Staff moved him to a different table but, aside from providing Band-Aids, did not offer further medical attention, the complaint alleged.

They did, however, increase his line of credit – something he argues he was in no condition to approve.

Doctor Confirms

Around 5:15 p.m., his friends escorted him back to his villa, where he passed out. The following day, he said he suspected he had been drugged. A doctor later concluded, “to a reasonable degree of medical probability,” that Manley had been poisoned with ketamine.

Manley filed his lawsuit on November 10, 2022, accusing MGM of negligence, unfair or deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment and breach of implied covenant. It sought unspecified damages in excess of $75K.

Neither party has responded to requests for comment on the settlement.