Las Vegas Resorts Beat Price-Fixing Suit Over Shared Software

Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Treasure Island beat a consumer class action lawsuit Friday, as the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a lower-court dismissal of claims that the Las Vegas casino companies conspired to fix hotel rates using shared pricing software.

In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel in San Francisco upheld the ruling of a US District Court in Las Vegas, which found that the plaintiffs failed to prove the resorts had agreed to follow pricing recommendations generated by a shared revenue-management platform operated by Cendyn.

“Rather than eliminating competition, pricing one’s hotel rooms in a manner calculated to maximize profits is how one competes,” wrote Circuit Judge Carlos Bea, joined by Circuit Judge Ana de Alba and US District Court Judge Jeffrey Brown.

MGM Resorts was listed in a defendant in the original class-action suit, filed in January 2023. However, it was excluded from the appeal. Its exclusion was not explained in the court documents.

The plaintiffs alleged the resorts fed sensitive data into Cendyn’s system, which spit out pricing recommendations that led to inflated room rates.

But the court found that the hotels retained the freedom to set their own prices.

The plaintiffs argued that even non-binding pricing advice can restrain competition — but the court didn’t bite.

The casino companies have denied any wrongdoing.

The case is part of a growing wave of litigation targeting the use of revenue-optimization platforms in the hospitality industry. A similar price-fixing lawsuit against Atlantic City casino-hotels was dismissed last October.

In dismissing the Las Vegas lawsuit in May, Chief US District Judge Miranda Du ruled that non-binding pricing suggestions do not constitute a restraint on trade.