Musician wins court case against red rock casino

Red Rock Casino loses million-dollar lawsuit against DJ Kaskade

The gambling companies of Las Vegas do not only fight for customers on the casino floors. The shows of world stars also cost the companies a lot of money. The dispute between Red Rock Resorts and DJ Kaskade shows how significant the risk of these engagements is. A court-ordered Red Rock to pay the musician USD 8 million (EUR 7.3 million) in compensation for canceled performances.

At issue in the dispute is a 2019 agreement between Red Rock Resorts and DJ Kaskade. At the time, the casino operator booked the EDM DJ for 30 shows each in 2019 and 2020. Kaskade was to serve as a drawcard for Kaos nightclub, which was part of Red Rock’s then Palms Casino.

According to the contract, Red Rock paid the DJ a high salary for the engagement. It was agreed that Kaskade would receive 300,000 USD for each of his live sessions. He would have earned 18 million USD over the two years.

In the end, however, DJ Kaskade only performed 20 times at the Kaos Club. Still, in 2019, Red Rock began cancelling the gigs. The reason given by the company was the multi-million dollar renovations in the casino and the attached club.

After that, however, the latter never opened its doors again. Red Rock explained that the “high entertainment costs” made an economic operation impossible.

Closure is not a reason to end contract

Judge Andrew Gordon, however, did not see this as sufficient reason to terminate the contractual relationship with the artist. The casino had had enough alternative possibilities to allow the performances.

Since this had not happened, the plaintiff was entitled to compensation. The judge set this at the high single-digit millions.

Kaskade lawyer Jordan Siev welcomed the ruling:

‘We are pleased that the court has ruled in Kaskade’s favor and upheld the parties’ carefully negotiated agreement.

Unlike the plaintiff, Red Rock representatives did not comment on the decision. It was its second costly dispute with an expensive artist for the casino.

Also, in 2019, the company had entered into a cooperation with DJ Marshmello, which was also terminated prematurely. According to rumors, the DJ received as much as USD 600,000 per performance. Unlike Kaskade, however, Red Rock managed to settle with Marshmello out of court. However, nothing was disclosed about the amount of the compensation payment.