A family argument at the Wynn Las Vegas buffet ended with a Southern California visitor deported to Armenia, after prosecutors dropped all charges but ICE intervened.
A brief argument at the Wynn Las Vegas buffet set off a series of events that ended with a visitor being deported, even though prosecutors later dropped the case. What started as a family dispute over a phone quickly became an immigration matter with lasting consequences for the woman involved.
Arpine Misakyan had traveled from Southern California to Las Vegas with her family. On April 6, 2026, she and her husband got into an argument inside the Wynn buffet. Casino security detained her, and police arrived to find her already in handcuffs. Surveillance footage showed the slap that triggered the arrest. According to 8 News Now, the couple had come to Las Vegas from Southern California for their trip.
How a Buffet Argument Became an Immigration Case
The arrest report describes a disagreement between Misakyan and her husband while they were eating at the buffet. Her husband told officers they had been partying and that the argument got out of hand. He admitted she slapped him, calling it a minor family issue that escalated. Las Vegas police told him that Nevada law requires a 12-hour separation period after a domestic violence arrest, which is standard in these cases.
After her arrest, Misakyan complained of high blood pressure and trouble breathing, so paramedics took her to a local hospital before she was booked into county jail. Her husband tried to get her released, but Nevada law mandates a cooling-off period after a domestic battery arrest. This, along with the Las Vegas police department's policy of notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in some domestic violence cases, set the next steps in motion.
Prosecutors Drop Charges, but ICE Gets Involved
Clark County prosecutors decided not to pursue domestic battery charges against Misakyan. Still, her time in jail brought ICE into the case. ICE officers from Salt Lake City arrested her on April 8, 2026, while she was still at the Clark County Detention Center. Even after local charges were dropped, she stayed in federal custody. Misakyan had a pending asylum application, but ICE described her as unlawfully present in the country, a situation that is not unusual under current immigration rules. She spent about three months in detention—first at the Henderson Detention Center, then at the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility in California—before agreeing to leave the U.S. for Armenia on July 4, 2026. The timeline and details were confirmed in a KLAS investigative report.
This is not the first time an incident at a Las Vegas resort has led to federal immigration action. Similar cases have happened at other Strip properties, showing how local police, resort security, and federal agencies can all become involved when something happens on casino property.
Las Vegas Resorts and the Risks for Visitors
The Misakyan case shows how a minor dispute inside a Las Vegas resort can quickly turn into a serious legal and immigration problem. For visitors with unresolved immigration status, even if charges are dropped, detention and removal are still possible. The combination of resort security rules, Nevada's mandatory arrest and cooling-off laws, and the police department's ICE notification policy creates a risky environment for anyone caught up in a dispute on casino property.
Las Vegas resorts are built for visitors from around the world, but a single mistake—even a small one—can lead to major legal and immigration trouble. The Misakyan case is a reminder that the mix of hospitality, law enforcement, and federal policy in Las Vegas can be unforgiving. For international visitors and those with pending immigration cases, the city's resorts leave little room for error, and the consequences of a brief argument can reach far beyond the casino. Wynn Las Vegas declined to comment and referred questions to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, according to KLAS.
