O.J. Simpson attends his parole hearing with his attorney Malcolm LaVergne at Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada, July 20, 2017. Jason Bean-Pool/Getty Images
O.J. Simpson threatened the Las Vegas casino that threw him out in November with a lawsuit worth $100 million or more.
Simpson’s attorney sent a letter to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas dated Dec. 29 about plans to sue and included a list of requests for evidence such as security camera footage and contact information for all employees at the casino the night Simpson was forced to leave, according to the document obtained by Matt Jones of KTNV.
In the letter, Simpson’s lawyer, Malcolm LaVergne, recalled a report by TMZ that claimed Simpson was drunk and unruly, and that drink glasses were broken before he was thrown out by staff and banned from coming back.
Still, LaVergne said that Simpson was willing to drop the lawsuit if the company meets the terms of the letter, KTNV reported.
“Now if they do that and say mea culpa. Mr. Simpson did nothing wrong in the same manner they went out with the big TMZ campaign back in November, okay all’s well that ends well,” said LaVergne.
Simpson denied the reports of unruly behavior in a subsequent video, also posted on TMZ. He recommended the reporters wait to get the facts before publishing. He said “Nothing happened at The Cosmo.”
“It’s a complete lie. They totally lied to everybody,” he added. “The hotel has made it clear that the story that you saw on that tabloid show was wrong, was inaccurate.”
LaVergne attributes the reason Simpson was kicked out to a decision made by staff before he arrived, according to KTNV. Simpson’s position is that he was having a calm dinner and was told he was banned upon leaving.
LaVergne believes employees at The Cosmopolitan sold the story to TMZ knowing it was false. He said the story creates problems with Simpson’s parole status, according to KVVU.
Simpson was granted parole on Oct. 1 after serving nine years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping. Some of the conditions of his parole include limiting how much alcohol he can consume, as Associated Press reports.
Besides accusing the casino staff, management, and associates of acting with “malice and racial prejudice” in the letter, he accuses them of doing it “for profit and in the hopes of jeopardizing Mr. Simpson’s parole status and embarrass him.”
The Cosmopolitan released a statement Jan. 5 in response, via KTNV:
“As a matter of company policy, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas does not comment on potential litigation.”
Colin is a New York-based reporter. He covers Entertainment, U.S., and international news. Besides writing for online news outlets he has worked in online marketing and advertising, done voiceover work, and has a background in sound engineering and filmmaking. His foreign language skills include Spanish and Chinese.
