VEGAS DINING NEWS: Strip Casino Sued for Reality Star’s Death, NFL Star Fumbles, New Use for ‘Pillars of Sadness’?
Posted on: September 23, 2025, 04:32h.
Last updated on: September 23, 2025, 06:37h.
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Javier’s Mexican restaurant and the Aria Resort & Casino, operated by MGM Resorts, following the death of a young TV star and producer who suffered a cardiac arrest while dining at the Mexican restaurant to celebrate his 35th birthday.
Michael Edward Heslin — co-creator, co-director and co-star of the 2020 Amazon Prime series “The Influencers” — collapsed while dining with friends during a 35th birthday celebration at Javier’s on June 25, 2024, according to Heslin’s obituary.
Court documents obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal claim that several employees witnessed his medical emergency, yet no lifesaving measures were taken for several minutes — though an automated external defibrillator was reportedly available on-site.
The complaint further claims that when a bystander attempted CPR, a staff member “forcefully interfered” with the effort. Heslin died on July 2, 2024.
The suit was on September 18 in Clark County District Court by Heslin’s spouse, Nicolas Wilson, who was also his creative partner in the Amazon Prime series. It alleges wrongful death, negligence, gross negligence, negligent hiring, and loss of consortium.
It also asserts that Heslin’s companions were forcibly removed from the restaurant and that staff demanded deletion of any videos documenting the event.
The lawsuit seeks general and special damages exceeding $15,000, funeral costs, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, interest, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Put a Fork in Emmitt’s Steakhouse
Emmitt’s Steakhouse, the embattled restaurant venture backed by NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, has reportedly shut its doors after operating for less than two years at Las Vegas Strip’s Fashion Show Mall.
According to multiple reports, a notice posted on the front entrance stated that the locks were changed due to a “delinquent payment of rent” totaling $407,730.99 owed to mall owner Brookfield Properties.
The closure marks the latest and seemingly last chapter in the restaurant’s troubled history, and actually the second time its locks were changed. The $18 million project previously faced a lockout two years before its grand opening. The 2022 incident stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the original chef and his restaurant group, which sought seeking $67 million in damages.
‘Pillars of Sadness’ to be Used by Food-Fast District?
Sleuthing by “Five Hundy by Midnight” co-host Tim Dressen has turned up a Clark County permit filing that may indicate what becomes of the two 450-foot cement pylons that have stood abandoned across the Las Vegas Strip from Mandalay Bay since 2014.
The “Pillars of Sadness,” as locals refer to them, memorialize the failure of the SkyVue Las Vegas Super Wheel, a 2011 project that was beaten to the same idea by a competitor with deeper backing, Caesars Entertainment’s High Roller.
According to renderings submitted by an unproven developer named Eli Applebaum, a fast-food district will front a small casino resort, with a Strat-esque observation deck and lounge overlooking the entire affair.
The “Pillars of Sadness” will supposedly comprise two of the three structural legs holding the deck aloft.
The deck will supposedly overlook 13 full-size, low-aiming restaurants including Black Bear Diner, Bojangles, Buffalo Wild Wings, Del Taco, Culver’s, Dunkin Donuts, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Portillo’s, Sbarro, Jimmy John’s, Arby’s and Starbucks.
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