A New Jersey State Superior Court judge has ruled 14 gamblers must return $1.5 million in winnings to Golden Nugget casino after officials there claimed cards hadn't been properly shuffled before the pots were won.

According to ABCNews.com, Judge Donna Taylor sided with the casino despite exhaustive arguments from the winners that they had nothing at all to do with the misstep, and thus, should be allowed to keep their winnings.

Reps for the casino contended they paid a manufacturer to pre-shuffle the cards, but that hadn't happened prior to all the players playing games of mini-baccarat in April of 2012. The website reports casino officials further alleged that once players detected the patterns of the cards they instantly started raising their bets from $10 to as much as $5,000, with the players at one point winning 41 straight hands.

In rendering her ruling, the judge found that the games were illegal under New Jersey law because they did not confirm to gambling guidelines stipulating how each game must be played.

"The dealer did not pre-shuffle the cards immediately prior to the commencement of play, and the cards were not pre-shuffled in accordance with any regulation," the judge wrote. "Thus, a literal reading of the regulations ... entails that the game violated the (Casino Control) Act, and consequently was not authorized."

More specifically, the judge ordered the gamblers to return all the money they won, as well as any remaining chips they might still might be in possession of. The casino, in turn, must refund the gamblers the money they first put up to play. Reportedly, the casino paid out $500,000 in cash related to the games, and another $1 million in chips remains unaccounted for.

Texas billionaire casino owner Tillman Fertitta initially claimed he planned to allow the players to keep their winnings, but later had a change of heart after they refused to conform to all his stipulations.