Tropicana casino sued over Beanie Babies slot promotion

David Strow

Friday, May 5, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

Ty Inc. is adamant -- "Jake the Mallard Duck," "Hissy the Snake" and "Chip the Cat" have no place in the Las Vegas Strip's Tropicana hotel-casino.

Ty, the Westmont, Ill.-based manufacturer and distributor of "Beanie Babies," hit Tropicana operator Aztar Corp. with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Las Vegas federal court. At issue -- "Beanie Babies Giveaway Slots," a Tropicana slot promotion that gives away the wildly popular plush toys in exchange for slot play.

Mixing its product with slots, Ty claims, "has tarnished or is likely to tarnish (Ty's) famous trademarks." It claims the promotion is ongoing.

Ty is demanding all profits the Tropicana has derived from the slot promotion, plus an unspecified amount of damage from Phoenix-based Aztar.

Aztar officials could not be reached for comment Thursday or this morning.

Photo exhibits included with the Ty lawsuit show a colorful sign over a bank of slots. The colorful "Giveaway" sign prominently features depictions of four Beanie Babies, plus Ty's distinctive heart trademark. After receiving "40 tickets," a player is entitled to receive one Beanie Baby.

Across the bottom, in much smaller print, is the Tropicana's disclaimer: "The Tropicana Hotel-Casino is not affiliated with Ty Corp."

Also included was a billboard from an unspecified area of Las Vegas that proclaims, "Win Beanie Babies on our new slots! Exclusively at the Tropicana!" This sign also featured pictures of Beanie Babies and the Ty logo.

At the sign's bottom, again in small print, is another disclaimer: "Ty and Beanie Babies are trademarks of Ty Inc."

In its lawsuit, Ty said it wasn't asked for permission to run the promotion -- but says anyone looking at the slots or the billboard would assume it had Ty's blessing.

The promotion, Ty claims, "falsely suggests to the consuming public that there exists an association or affiliation between the defendants and Ty, and/or Ty has sponsored or endorsed the defendant's slot machines or casino."

"This has caused and will continue to cause dilution of the distinctive quality of Ty's famous trademarks, and has tarnished or is likely to tarnish Ty's famous trademarks."

New regulations passed by Nevada gaming regulators earlier this year permit the state Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission to restrict slot machine themes based on their appeal to children -- the so-called "slots for tots" regulation. One game, International Game Technology's "Addams Family," has had restrictions placed on its permitted location under this new location.

The criteria for banning a slot under this regulation is that the theme used must be primarily marketed or intended for people under the age of 21.

But that isn't likely to happen with the Tropicana's slot giveaway, said control board Chairman Steve DuCharme.

The new regulation, DuCharme said, covers the theme of a game, and logos placed on reels or machine glass. Since the Beanie Baby promotion appears on a sign above the slots -- and the machines themselves are ordinary slots, such as "Double Diamonds" -- the regulation wouldn't apply.

One regulation the control board could use, DuCharme said, are provisions addressing the method of slot machine operation.

"However, Beanie Babies are collected by a large number of adults, judging by the number of Beanie Babies that are on my secretary's desk," DuCharme said. "It could be addressed by general regulations regarding the method of operations, but I don't believe that the Beanie Babies are exclusively marketed toward children. There are many adults that collect them."