US Casinos Deny Involvement in Conspiracy to Artificially Inflate Hotel Prices

Several US gambling and entertainment companies that own iconic hotels in Las Vegas asked the court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to artificially raise room rates at the ‘Sin City’ hotels.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this year by Hagens Berman on behalf of two Las Vegas tourists. According to their complaint, since 2019, gambling and entertainment companies including Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Wynn Resorts have joined forces to raise hotel rates.

The companies allegedly used a price aggregator called Rainmaker to avoid price competition. The implementation of this aggregator led to an immediate spike in the hotel rates for guests.

According to Reuters, lawyers of the companies involved in the lawsuit stated that the plaintiff has not presented any direct or circumstantial evidence to support the alleged conspiracy.

Therefore, the defense believes that the lawsuit should be dismissed.

It’s worth noting that the companies involved in this case control over two dozen hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, including hotel-casinos like Caesars Palace, Wynn, Harrah’s, and MGM Grand.

Previously, Las Vegas was ranked as one of the most influential tourist cities by the WTTC.