Posted on: December 15, 2023, 05:20h.
Last updated on: December 15, 2023, 05:20h.
The family of a woman who collapsed while playing a Wynn Las Vegas slot machine, and later died, is suing the casino resort for failing to “reasonably assess” her need for emergency medical attention.
Billie Sakkab, 74, collapsed while playing slots alone during the Wynn’s Super Bowl viewing party on Feb. 13 last year, according to the suit, which was obtained and first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Sakkab suffered a cardiac arrest because Wynn employees were not quick enough to use an on-hand portable automated external defibrillator. That’s the argument made by the action filed Dec. 5 against Wynn Las Vegas LLC in Clark County District Court by Christian Morris Trial Attorneys on behalf of Sakkab’s widower, Nabil Y. Sakkab Sr., and three other family survivors.
The suit accuses the megaresort of negligence; negligent hiring, training, retention and supervision; negligent security; wrongful death; and gross negligence, according to the R-J. It seeks special damages in excess of $15K, unspecified punitive damages, interest, and attorneys’ fees.
According to the action, though Sakkab was unconscious, “multiple … Wynn employees on the casino floor as well as the video surveillance room, failed to reasonably assess” that she required emergency medical attention.
The lawsuit added that Wynn Las Vegas “knew or should have known that a large and increased number of guests would be present at the event and on the casino floor” and “due to the increase in guests … knew or should have known that an incident involving a medical emergency was more probable.”
According to the lawsuit, Wynn employees waited until 5:54 p.m. to dial 911 for emergency medical services, resulting in a six-minute response from the Clark County Fire Department and a nine-minute response from a Medic West ambulance. Sakkab was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6:47 p.m.
The R-J story did not state at what time Sakkab lost consciousness.
An obituary published in February 2022 described Billie Sakkab as a “deeply devoted wife and mother” of two children, and grandmother of three, who met her husband of 51 years while they both attended Texas Christian University.
“She was the person that everyone in her family came to for help and support,” the obit said. “Billie always was guided by the highest moral code.”
