Las Vegas Strip resorts file motion to dismiss price-fixing lawsuit
Four major resort operators on the Las Vegas Strip asked a U.S. court last week to dismiss a lawsuit accusing them of price-fixing.
A "class action lawsuit" filed in January accuses Caesars Entertainment Corp., MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts Holdings Inc. and Treasure Island Corp. of illegally sharing data with each other through revenue management software to artificially inflate hotel room prices.
The four casino companies collectively control 26 of the 33 resorts on or near the Las Vegas Strip.
Company response
Lawyers representing the four companies and Cendyn Group, the Florida-based maker of revenue management platform Rainmaker, wrote in a March 27 filing that the plaintiffs, two tourists, had provided no direct evidence that the platform facilitated the price agreement.
"The complaint failed from the outset because it lacked all of the essential elements required to allege an antitrust conspiracy," the defendants wrote in a joint motion to dismiss the case in U.S. District Court in Nevada. "The lawsuit fails to find that the hotel defendants There were no communications between them, let alone communications that would indicate an ongoing conspiracy.”
Steve Berman, managing partner of plaintiff Hagens Berman LLP in Seattle, said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the motion to dismiss was not surprising.
"The defendants in this case will do anything they can to hedge their bets, but we believe the odds are stacked against them," Berman said.
How the so-called protocol works
The plaintiffs' lawsuit accuses Rainmaker, which employs 90 percent of the hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. Rainmaker's proprietary software, Guestrev, allegedly violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by analyzing price and room availability information in real time and then artificially suppressing supply to maximize resort profits.
In a competitive market, hoteliers independently set room rates to accommodate as many rooms as possible.
According to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, the information shared by Rainmaker and the algorithm it built “superseded normal competitive pricing and resulted in higher home prices.”
Antitrust lawyers "strongly criticized this exchange of prices and quotes as anticompetitive," Hagens Berman said in a press release.
Read also:
- Football 101: What is relegation in football?
- Don't be cruel: A.I. predicted what Elvis Presley would look like today
- Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway Misses 10th Hotel Deadline
- Katy Perry performs secret Las Vegas show at Allegiant Stadium
Source: www.casino.org
