By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER ADVERTISING Associated Press HONOLULU — A Hawaii man is suing a Las Vegas hotel and casino where he was beaten and robbed in 2010, claiming Main Street Station was negligent in not
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press
HONOLULU — A Hawaii man is suing a Las Vegas hotel and casino where he was beaten and robbed in 2010, claiming Main Street Station was negligent in not providing enough security in a long, dark hallway that leads to restrooms.
Calvin Kawamura and his wife, Jeanie, of Aiea, filed the lawsuit last week in federal court.
According to the suit, the Kawamuras were playing slot machines on the main casino floor of the downtown hotel in May 2010. It was about 3 a.m. when then-68-year-old Calvin Kawamura headed to the restroom where he was attacked by a homeless man later arrested by Las Vegas police.
Kawamura was knocked unconscious and robbed by the man who “wandered unimpeded into the Main Street Station casino where he was able to lay in wait undetected in a bathroom tucked away at the end of a long, dark and isolated corridor,” the lawsuit states.
There were no security guards or personnel at or near the restroom, the lawsuit said.
Main Street Station operator Boyd Gaming Corp. declined to comment on pending litigation.
Because Main Street Station targets Hawaii residents who frequent Las Vegas, it should be a place that’s safe for visitors, the couple’s attorney, Edmund Saffery, said Thursday. “They make it appear like it’s your home away from home,” he said, of a casino where dealers wear aloha shirts. “It’s like you never left Hawaii.”
The lawsuit notes that Boyd Gaming’s 2011 annual report says its downtown properties focus marketing on Hawaii residents and travel agents. Through its travel agency Vacations Hawaii, Boyd operates weekly charter flights from Honolulu to Las Vegas. In 2011, visitors from Hawaii made up more than half of Main Street Station’s occupied room nights, the report said.
The Kawamuras, who started visiting Las Vegas more often during their retirement years, opted to stay at Main Street Station because of the many advertisements they received, Saffery said.
Kawamura suffers physical and emotional problems related to the attack, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by Hawaii News Now.
The Kawamuras are seeking unspecified financial damages.
