Planet Hollywood Casino Owners Sued Over Mannequin in Room

Just in time for the hordes descending on Vegas for the summer’s WSOP, an unusual lawsuit filed against the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino has come to light – one gambler claiming $10,000 in damages after a mannequin in a racing suit scared him senseless as he entered his hotel room.

Kent Jacobs Boutwell claims that back in May of 2015, he “entered his darkened hotel room and was shocked and surprised by a human figure in the room.”

“Thinking there was a person in the room intending to harm him and scared for his safety, he was seriously injured when attempting to escape,” reads his attorney’s litigation statement filed with the District Court in Clark County, Nevada.

“Eventually (he) was able to ascertain that the human figure in his room was a mannequin in a locked-glass cabinet displaying a life-sized ‘Miller Lite’ racing suit,” according to his attorney Richard S. Johnson.

Although Mr Boutwell’s injuries have not been detailed, he is looking for at least $10,000 in damages, claiming that “the presence of a life-sized human figure in a darkened room was a dangerous and/or hazardous condition,” and one which he was not forewarned of.

Caesar’s Entertainment, the owners of the Planet Hollywood casino, told News3lv.com that:

“While we do not comment on pending litigation, historically many of the Planet Hollywood rooms were decorated with memorabilia which has been removed during a $125 million full modernization and renovation of all 2,496 rooms.”

The lawsuit is asking for damages including for pain, suffering, mental distress, anguish and fear – as well as legal costs and “past and future loss of earnings” among other factors.

Cash box football

Boutwell is hardly the first gambler to sue for injuries sustained during casino visits, with Justin Tyndaal suing Rockingham Gaming in 2015 when a dealer dropped his table’s cash box on his left foot during a poker tournament, causing “severe pain” and “serious and permanent injuries”.

Roulette wheel accident

2015 appears to have been a bad year for injury-prone gamblers, with Leander Stocks suing the Maryland Live! Casino for injuries he claimed were “sustained after a roulette ball became airborne and hit him above the eye.”

He stated in court documents related to the $300,000 claim that an “employee operating the device negligently caused the wheel’s hard ball to become airborne and strike [him] just above the left eye at high velocity,” leaving a bruise.

After the incident. Stocks claimed that a casino security guard made things worse, “taking him to a private room for assistance” and administering an “unknown substance to his eye”, causing him further discomfort and harm. “He then lost balance and hit his head on a door and got a concussion.”