Rappers and Vegas don’t mix too well. The latest exhibit is YG, who The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas finds itself being associated with in an alleged assault and robbery. The Cosmo is being 
sued by one Benjamin Naderi over a beatdown he allegedly suffered at the hands of YG’s posse. It supposedly started with an ill-advised request for a photo with the celeb (aka Keenon Jackson), followed by YG’s homies being told to “get him,” pinning Naderi down and beating the crap out of him. YG allegedly crowned the whole incident by yanking a gold chain and diamond pendant off Naderi’s chest.
The Cosmo’s less-than-gallant stance is that it couldn’t have done anything to prevent the brawl, chalking the whole thing up to carelessness on Naderi’s part. (They do have a point.) YG, meanwhile is facing felony robbery charges filed by Clark County. Naderi is suing The Cosmo and YG for $250,000, and the casino is doing everything it can to extricate itself from the litigation, particularly as to the aspersions it casts on Cosmo security. We’ll stay tuned.
* If MGM Resorts International gets a casino in Connecticut, it will have essentially forced itself upon the Nutmeg State. In the latest step in CEO Jim Murren‘s scorched earth campaign is to sue the Interior Department for having allowed the tribal 
compacts in Connecticut to be amended to allow for the building of a third, joint-venture casino in East Windsor. Noting that “state legislators have recently proposed granting the joint venture an exclusive, no-bid license to operate a casino in Bridgeport,” MGM concludes that “The amendments thus confer a statewide, perpetual competitive advantage on the joint venture,” and that a third casino would be a hybrid tribal/commercial venture. (We’re not saying that MGM doesn’t have a point or so, just that it seems to have lost perspective.)
“Interior’s approval decisions establish an unlawful state-conferred monopoly over commercial gaming rights in Connecticut,” fumes MGM, adding the implication that the state 
could make even more casino revenue from an MGM resort. Gov. Ned Lamont (D) hinted at concessions, saying, “As I have consistently said, our state needs to reach a global gaming resolution that will avoid years and years of complex litigation.” Joint-venture spokesman Andrew Doba was less conciliatory, firing back that “We can either let a Las Vegas company that generates not one dime of revenue for the state push us around or we can stand strong with the tribes.”
State Sen. Cathy Osten (D) was of like mind, calling MGM a “schoolyard bully” and adding, “It’s time for us to move on and 
take care of Connecticut.” Doba and Osten could soon be firing their barbs in a different direction. The Lege’s likelihood to give the tribes exclusivity over sports betting has already inspired rumblings of litigation from OTB operator Sportech. Look for the legislative session to be a thorny one for gaming interests.
* Think twice before ordering the ham and eggs at The Grille in Elko‘s Gold Dust West Casino. Customer Harry Wiseman is suing the restaurant over a case of salmonella he contracted after eating there. Owner Jacobs Entertainment is cooperating with the Nevada Department of Health, which is also looking at the case. As for Wiseman, he had to spend nine days in the hospital, which tells that this is no joking matter.
* Will the third time be the charm for Sheldon Adelson in his 15-year feud with businessman Richard Suen? The latter 
continues to sue Adelson for a “success fee” and damages for helping Adelson get into Macao. Suen has won the first two rounds, having been awarded $44 million, then $70 million, with the ante in Trial #3 going up to at least $100 million. The proceedings are gaveled to order (to the extent that any case involving the obstreperous Adelson can be said to be orderly) and Courtroom View Network will carry it live. The Suen lawsuit, however, is peanuts compared to a $12 billion suit being heard in Macao, regarding similar grievances. At a glance it seems like Sands has a bad habit of picking multiple dance partners and then jilting them when its objective has been achieved,
