Like jokes about bombs while passing through airport security, sometimes a flippant quip about a serious topic isn’t so funny. Just ask Massachusetts poker player Scott Robbins, who is suing the Borgata casino in Atlantic City for more than $1.25 million after a jest about suicide to hotel staff led to a hospital trip and a lifetime ban.

The lawsuit, filed on June 15 in a New Jersey Superior court, came to light on Monday after Borgata corporate counsel successfully sought to have the case removed to federal court, where it will now be heard.

At the heart of the complaint is an ill-conceived joke about jumping out of hotel windows made in front of Borgata staff.