A high-stakes legal battle is unfolding in California's casino event industry, where a prominent casino party service provider is taking on several competitors over alleged unfair business practices. Aces Up Casino Parties, LLC has filed a complaint against 3 Of A Kind Casino Events, BAM Casino Party Rentals, Bay City Events, Inc., Blue Dog Events Inc., Full House Casino Events, Pair A Dice Games, Inc., Signature Casino Parties and Events LLC, Spark Events LLC, and other unnamed defendants. The lawsuit was filed on April 29, 2025, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Francisco.
Aces Up Casino Parties accuses its competitors of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and Unfair Practices Act by misclassifying their employees as independent contractors. This practice allegedly allows these companies to undercut Aces Up's pricing by avoiding the costs associated with employing workers under state law. According to the complaint, Aces Up properly classifies its workers as employees and incurs significant expenses such as paying minimum wage and overtime, maintaining workers' compensation insurance, and covering payroll taxes. In contrast, the defendants allegedly save on labor costs by misclassifying their workforce.
The plaintiff claims that this misclassification not only violates California Labor Code § 2753 but also gives an unfair competitive advantage to those who do not adhere to proper employment classifications. "In reality," asserts Aces Up in its filing, "the Casino Defendants’ employees are just that—employees—and the companies have paid them less than what they deserve under California law." As a result of these practices, Aces Up alleges it has lost numerous clients and substantial revenue.
Aces Up seeks various forms of relief from the court including declaratory relief confirming that the defendants have violated relevant laws; injunctive relief requiring defendants to comply with employment classification laws; compensatory damages; treble damages; punitive damages; attorney’s fees; and any other appropriate legal or equitable relief. The company argues that such measures are necessary to restore fair competition within the industry and prevent further harm to businesses that comply with state regulations.
Representing Aces Up is Shannon Liss-Riordan from Lichten & Liss-Riordan P.C., based in Boston. The case has been assigned Case No. CGC-25-624859 in front of judges at the Superior Court of California for San Francisco County.