Casino Outside the Strip Files Lawsuit Against F1 over Las Vegas Race
The proprietors of Ellis Island Casino are taking legal action against F1, alleging they've incurred financial losses due to the first Las Vegas Grand Prix last year. The lawsuit, filed last month but recently disclosed, demands more than $50,000 in compensation and also implicates Clark County and the State of Nevada as defendants.
Ellis Island claims that the race and the related setup and disassembly cause significant disruption to both employees and patrons, as its property in Koval Lane, right beside F1's current, $500 million paddock complex, was inaccessible. In the lawsuit, it is mentioned that the staff on the night before the initial practice round were informed they couldn't go in or out for three hours.
The suit also blames Clark County for classifying the race as a unique event without making it mandatory for F1 to apply for a special use permit, and criticizes F1 for promoting this year's event before the county had even held a review of the first one.
Ellis Island, which was a race sponsor and built a 1,000-seat grandstand in its parking lot for spectating the race, reportedly paid a significant but unspecified sum for this privilege and fetched $1,500 per three-day pass.
"We saw the value of Formula One and having the facility right next door, we knew we wanted to find a way to get involved," Christina Ellis, VP of Development at Ellis Island, told the Nevada Independent in September 2022. "We started talking about potential partnership opportunities rather early on."
Not a First-time Occurrence
This is the second legal proceeding against F1 for matters related to the race. A collective of 35,000 fans initiated a class action suit in November 2022 after being forced to leave a grandstand due to delayed practice rounds for which they had paid hundreds of dollars each.
The outcome of this lawsuit has not been reported in the news.
In February 2023, over a dozen businesses near the track threatened to take F1 to court for the $30 million they allege they lost when racing preparations barred them from their regular customer base. However, no lawsuit has yet been lodged on their behalf. Six of these businesses, however, initiated a Change.org petition pressing for the denial of a special use permit for closing the streets for this year's Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is scheduled for November 21-23.
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Source: www.casino.org
