Court hears Las Vegas casino’s case seeking damages against F1
Legal proceedings over damages for a casino near the 2023 Formula One Grand Prix track continued on Thursday, with a Clark County judge ruling that more information is needed to determine whether the case can proceed.
The owners of Ellis Island hotel-casino, an off-Strip property located just north of the Formula One Paddock Building on Koval Lane, filed a lawsuit in April against the Las Vegas Grand Prix and Clark County seeking damages for the impact of the inaugural racing event. In it, the owners say they lost millions of dollars because of race-related road construction — which occurred for months preceding the November 2023 event dates — that blocked access to the hotel-casino.
Attorneys for the race and the county requested the District Court dismiss the case during the hearing.
“The problem is that while we may have had actual and real frustrations with traffic and access during the construction of all the improvements that were necessary for the 2023 Grand Prix race, even during the race, these inconveniences — even if they impacted their business — they’re not compensable under our constitution,” Agnes Hanley, Clark County’s attorney, argued to Judge Joanna Kishner.
Kishner effectively ruled attorneys for the business needed to provide more detail in its complaints to show why the cases should proceed.
Ellis Island lawyers had argued that race officials intentionally obstructed access to Ellis Island in violation of Nevada law. But the law specifies that “total obstruction” is unlawful, and the complaint does not detail instances of complete lack of access to the site. Kishner ruled that action could proceed, but must be clarified.
It’s unclear when the parties will be in court again. The attorneys agreed to confer and submit deadline dates to the court for an amended complaint and other related filings.
Ellis Island is not the only business looking for a financial recourse from losses during F1. On Tuesday, attorneys for the Italian restaurant Battista’s Hole in the Wall and Stage Door Casino, located behind the Flamingo, filed a similar lawsuit seeking damages for the “millions” of dollars lost from the impact of road construction blocking access to the property on Linq Lane.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.