Ellis Island Hotel & Casino has filed a lawsuit and claims damages are “in the millions” from the 2023 Grand Prix in Las Vegas. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Owners want compensation

The owners of off-Strip resort Ellis Island Hotel & Casino are claiming damages over the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Real Vegas Locals took to X on Tuesday to share news of Ellis Island’s lawsuit filed against the Las Vegas Grand Prix and Clark County on April 30:

The suit is seeking damages of $50,000+ linked to financial losses and expenses brought about by Vegas’ inaugural Formula 1 race last year. The Las Vegas Review-Journal cited an email it received Saturday by Ellis Island attorney J. Randall Jones.

damages to date are already in the millions.”

The Kemp-Jones law firm’s attorney stated the resort’s “damages to date are already in the millions.” Jones added F1 organizers’ plans to hold the Grand Prix in Vegas annually for the next nine years “will continue to cause Ellis Island significant economic losses in the future.”

The resort’s lawsuit claims the F1 race affected customer and employee access to the property, both during the November race and for multiple months before and after the event because of construction works.

Clark County, F1 take fire

According to the LVR-J, the Ellis Island suit also took exception to how organizing parties approved both the F1 race and the 3.8-mile circuit “without event organizers having to file for a special use permit.”

The lawsuit also takes issue with F1 organizers promoting the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of Clark County holding a briefing on last year’s race.

On Tuesday a spokeswoman for the county government, Jennifer Cooper, said Clark County could not provide comment “on pending litigation.”

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has already inked a three-year deal with F1’s holding company Liberty Media to host the Vegas Grand Prix. The deal costs the LVCVA $6.5m per year, with it and Liberty Media both hoping to extend the agreement beyond the initial contract that runs until 2025.

According to media reports, the Clark County Commission recognized the F1 race as a yearly event for a decade at minimum. While the Commission didn’t sign a contract to guarantee the yearly event, it did agree terms “for various ordinances to be waived without additional meetings” provided the Grand Prix takes place the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.

Despite the F1 organizers supplying Clark County with traffic plans for the 2024 race on May 1, these have still to be made public.

Following suit

Ellis Island’s lawsuit follows another action by six Las Vegas business owners who in May backed on online petition aimed at stopping the 2024 F1 race. They claim they lost $30m because of the 2023 event.

Like Ellis Island, the six disgruntled owners have property near Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, the site of a giant temporary bridge built for last year’s race.

Since rolling out online on May 3, the “Stop the Las Vegas Grand Prix” petition has gathered more than 2,600 signatures.