Vegas resort in litigation over ‘Colosseum’ name

Monday, Oct. 28, 2002 | 11:49 a.m.

Park Place Entertainment Corp., owner of the Caesars Palace resort on the Las Vegas Strip, is suing for the right to call part of the resort the "Colosseum."

Las Vegas-based Park Place sued Cyrus Milanian and his company, The New Las Vegas Development Co. LLC, from claiming rights to the Colosseum trademark.

Park Place said it has used the Colosseum name for more than 30 years to identify its convention, exhibition and entertainment center at Caesars Palace.

Park Place said Milanian is a "self-described Internettor" who had filed to register the Colosseum trademark almost immediately after Park Place announced plans last April to build a new Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

He allegedly threatened in June to bring trademark infringement claims against Park Place just before the March 2003 opening of the new Colosseum, where Celine Dion will perform beginning next year.

"He undoubtedly hopes to exploit this situation by filing a suit just before the March 2003 opening that would cast a cloud over (Park Place's) rights in the Colosseum mark, create unfavorable publicity, and then attempt to leverage that situation to extract a financial payment," the suit said.

The defendants could not be reached for comment on Park Place's allegations.