Use of ‘Tropicana’ name at issue in lawsuit

By Steve Green

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 | 12:15 p.m.

The dispute over use of the "Tropicana" name by the Tropicana hotel-casino in Las Vegas is heating up, with the property's former parent company filing a counterclaim to the Las Vegas hotel's lawsuit.

The Las Vegas Tropicana, having emerged as a standalone company from Tropicana Entertainment LLC's bankruptcy, last month sued Tropicana Entertainment in Clark County District Court and filed motions in the bankruptcy case asserting its rights to use the Tropicana name.

At issue is whether Tropicana Entertainment can require the Las Vegas Tropicana to pay royalties since, Tropicana Entertainment argues, it owns the Tropicana trademarks covering hotel-casinos in Las Vegas and around the country.

Tropicana Entertainment responded Monday to the Clark County lawsuit by moving it to U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, citing federal questions of law.

Tropicana Entertainment also disputed the Las Vegas Tropicana's assertions it should be able to use its own name without paying a fee, and Tropicana Entertainment filed a counterclaim.

The Tropicana Las Vegas has infringed on Tropicana Entertainment's "federally registered service marks in interstate commerce by the continued operation of a hotel and casino under the name 'Tropicana Resort & Casino Las Vegas' and offering for sale and advertising casino, entertainment and hotel and restaurant services under the name and mark 'Tropicana Resort & Casino Las Vegas," the counterclaim charges.

Tropicana Entertainment noted it also owns the Tropicana Atlantic City and the Tropicana Express in Laughlin.

"As a result of (Tropicana Entertainment's) continued use of the Tropicana marks in interstate commerce, the Tropicana marks have achieved fame and notoriety and are associated in the minds of consumers nationwide with a consistent level of high-quality casino, entertainment and hotel and restaurant services," Tropicana Entertainment argued.

Tropicana Entertainment, now controlled by investor Carl Icahn, said its rights to the Tropicana trademark have been cemented in loan documents listing the trademarks as collateral for financing for Tropicana Entertainment -- financing that did not include the Las Vegas Tropicana.

The dispute emerged in March when Onex Corp. of Toronto, the main lender to the Las Vegas Tropicana, was preparing to take over the Las Vegas property in partnership with former MGM Mirage executive Alex Yemenidjian.

Court records show that under a plan for the Tropicana name revealed in March, Tropicana Entertainment would be granted exclusive ownership of the name "Tropicana" for casino services. The Las Vegas company to be spun off out of the bankruptcy would be required to pay $10 million for the rights to use the name over five years.

Onex objected to the plan in March and the issue is now pending before both the federal court in Las Vegas and the Tropicana Entertainment bankruptcy court in Delaware.