Sahara vs. Roeben, Round Two; Colorado sportsbooks boom

Vital Vegas author Scott Roeben made big news over the weekend with a countersuit against the Sahara for attempting to stifle freedom of the press. If you have a few days to spare, you can read the 111-page filing in its entirety. To cut to the chase, attorney Marc Randazzo (a seasoned First Amendment warrior), writes that “Sahara is here on the novel theory that even though Vital Vegas stated this [“rumor is unconfirmed”] in its article, since it stated it in paragraphs following a photograph, that changes the otherwise non-defamatory article into a defamatory one. This theory is so novel and strange that it does not appear to have ever been brought in the United States before.” Indeed Sahara owner Alex Meruelo may have really stepped into a bear trap because Roeben is now free to unleash all manner of damaging information he had previously kept on the Q.T. (see page 5 of the lawsuit for a damning example, with even worse in the “Exhibits” section).