The Perils of Procrastination and other stories

As seen from the last post, there are many liabilities to look for in the event planning/management industry. Upon review of some Entertainment Law Update podcasts, I was able to identify a few additional hidden liabilities that may not be as prevalent but are every bit as important.

In episode 35, Gordon Firemark, the host of the podcasts, and a guest discuss an issue brought to us by the Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City. On April 30, 2012, several casino patrons were playing mini-baccarat when they, after a few hands, began to notice a pattern in the cards and upped their bets. The gamblers were racking up the chips but the casino let the game continue, assuming that there was a large cheating scam going on and that they could catch the person red-handed.

In actuality, the cards, which were supposed to be pre-shuffled by the manufacturer, had not been shuffled and were coming out in the same order from every deck. The casino cashed in a few chips but once the high rollers came in they denied them their money because they argued that it wasn’t the casino’s fault. And it wasn’t the casino’s fault, it was the fault of the manufacturer but the casino failed to stop the game when they noticed something wrong. As a sort of punitive damages, the judge ruled that the casino must cash in all chips. I’m sure next time they will step in before it’s too late and they make another $1.5 million mistake. So how does this relate to event planning? Be careful with party games, raffles, and even casino style games at your events. If there is a manufacturer error and you buy a roll full of winning tickets and sell them, unless everyone understands the mistake and agrees to cancel the game, you may have to honor all of the winning tickets. It is important to use dependable vendors and double check everything because once it’s at your event, it’s your responsibility.

In episode 18, an issue from the 2011 Super Bowl was discussed. The NFL was attempting to settle with about 400 of the over 1,000 angry fans that didn’t get the seat they paid for at the Super Bowl. The stadium had set up temporary seating in the arena for the big event and sold tickets for those seats. Unfortunately, neither the Cowboys Stadium owners and officials nor the league had the arena checked in advance and when the fire marshal did his inspection the day of the event, he deemed the temporary seats unsafe. About 860 fans were moved to the “nosebleed” seats and about 400 had to watch the game from monitors in a standing room only section. Some of the guests were offered the option to get a refund of their ticket price or to receive a ticket to a future Super Bowl. However, this was not offered to everyone and about 400 of the fans came forward in a lawsuit. Firemark’s guest points out that what is making this case so strong is that seat license holders (season ticket/pass holders) have come forward as the lead plaintiffs. These people are loyal and dedicated fans, the VIP of the league fans, and they didn’t even get their seat, which shows just how big of a screw up this was. The lesson here and an overarching theme is procrastination can cost you big. Don’t wait until the last minute to have your venue inspected. The inspection should have been done before they sold tickets for those seats. But even if they would have done the inspection a few days before the game, they could have taken the necessary steps to ensure safety. Another good lesson is to not promise something you can’t deliver. If the venue can only hold 100 people, don’t promise that you can do an event for 110 people, you’ll only get yourself in trouble.

Briana Scales