Four major Vegas hotels are being sued for illegally inflating pricing through vendor
Your Las Vegas vacation costs may have been more than typical due to vendor-induced price gouging. While losing money at a casino is a distinct possibility, no one ever travels to “Sin City” with the expectation of being swindled.
Because of this, it is exceedingly challenging for customers to determine whether they are paying a fair or unfair price. Hotel owners might want to take advantage of that, but there are legal restrictions on how they may act. Last year, hotels along the Las Vegas Strip saw an increase in their average daily room rates that exceeded $200 per night.
A federal complaint has been filed in Nevada alleging that, since 2019, the majority of Las Vegas Strip hotels have used a third party to unlawfully manipulate room rates. Damages on behalf of several hotel guests who made reservations in Las Vegas during that time period are being sought in this class action complaint.
MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, Treasure Island, and Wynn Resorts are accused of providing data to a company that utilized pricing algorithms to “maximize market-wide prices,” which basically means they gather real-time pricing and supply data from rivals and make recommendations for room rental rates that are intended to illegally maximize profits for their hotel guests.
The complaint was filed on January 25th, in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
It charges the resorts with “algorithmic-driven price-fixing... at the cost of the customers and in breach of antitrust laws,” along with Rainmaker Group Unlimited, a revenue management firm owned by Cendyn Group, as reported by CBS News.
According to FOX, the lawsuit seeks unspecified financial compensation for “tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands” of individuals due to alleged violations of the federal Sherman Act’s antitrust provisions.
Attorneys from the Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro law firm in Seattle and Berkeley, California, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs Richard Gibson and Heriberto Valiente.
On January 26th, MGM Resorts, the parent company of the Bellagio, New York-New York, MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay casinos, issued a statement labeling the lawsuit as “meritless.”
“The claims against MGM Resorts are factually inaccurate, and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously,” the statement read.
Wynn Resorts shied away from comment. Caesars Entertainment and Treasure Island representatives were contacted by The Associated Press for comment as well, but received no response.
The Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, the Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas, and the Flamingo are among the properties on the Las Vegas Strip that are managed by Caesars Entertainment.
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Steve Berman repurposed a catchphrase from a popular ad campaign that debuted in early 2003.
“What happens in Vegas will no longer stay in Vegas. We intend to expose the under-the-table deals perpetrated by these Vegas hotels,” Berman said.
How likely are you to visit Las Vegas now, after this debacle?
Evie Blanco is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, New York. She is extremely well-versed in hip-hop music and culture and is always aware of any developments within it. Whether it’s the latest in pop culture, a fascinating foreign destination, a truly amazing new restaurant, or breaking news, she loves to write about it all.
This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Four major Vegas hotels are being sued for illegally inflating pricing through vendor."