A Las Vegas producer is suing Caesars Entertainment Corp., charging he lost a deal valued at more than $1 million when Caesars Palace canceled plans to bring Sheena Easton in as a resident performer.
Attorneys for Joseph Battig filed suit Monday in Clark County District Court.
The suit says Battig last year entered into an "enforceable contract" with Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip in which Easton would perform six shows per week for one year, beginning in November 2010, at Cleopatras Barge.
The suit says the deal would have generated a net profit for Battig of more than $1 million, even after paying Easton, as Caesars agreed to pay Battig $57 per $60 ticket for shows in the 175-seat venue. Caesars Palace would have retained $3 per ticket and revenue from alcohol sales, the suit says.
The shows would have started at 7:30 p.m. (Matt Goss has been performing shows at 9:30 in the Gossy Room in Cleopatras Barge).
Battig’s attorneys in the lawsuit said that in reliance upon this agreement, he contracted with Easton through her agent Steve Levine at International Creative Management and paid Easton $60,000 up front.
"In September of 2010, defendant advised plaintiff that they would no longer honor the agreement that had been reached, and they were terminating the agreement for Sheena Easton to perform at Cleopatras Barge," said the suit, filed by Las Vegas attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld.
The suit says Easton returned $25,000, but withheld $35,000 of the guarantee payment.
"Plaintiff lost out on revenue that he would have received under the terms of the agreement," says the suit, which alleges breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation and seeks unspecified damages.
A request for comment was placed with Caesars, which usually doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Easton remains a regular on the casino entertainment circuit and is known for 1980s hits like "Morning Train," "For Your Eyes Only," "Strut" and "U Got the Look."