Ex-Rivers Casino host sues venue, claims sexual harassment by 'high rollers'

A former Rivers Casino employee who repeatedly reported being sexually harassed by “high rollers” is suing the Pittsburgh gambling venue after she said she was fired for reporting the alleged abuse.

The nine-page complaint alleging a single count of retaliation was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. It seeks the plaintiff’s reinstatement as a host at the North Shore casino as well as lost wages and compensatory damages.

The lawsuit includes examples of several alleged instances of harassment after the woman began work on June 7, 2022.

TribLive does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

On Oct. 9, 2022, she said, a frequent guest abruptly stopped her and “without her consent, initiated a side hug and kissed the woman on the side of her lip and said, ‘I kind of snuck that one in there, didn’t I?’ ”

The lawsuit said the plaintiff immediately told her supervisor what had happened.

Twelve days later, while attending a “Very, Very Important Person” event, a guest approached the woman while she was talking to a manager at the casino and said he was frustrated he couldn’t take her to a college football game on her day off.

The guest then kissed the employee’s hand, the complaint said.

On Oct. 31, 2022, when the plaintiff announced a drawing for the high rollers, one of the winners yelled to the woman, “You sexy (expletive)! Did you call my name?” and then kissed her on the cheek and ear, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit said the employee informed her supervisor that she was uncomfortable.

Three days later, as the plaintiff spoke to another host, two guests approached. The plaintiff bent over to pick up something from the floor, the lawsuit said, when a female guest fondled her buttocks and underwear and made a loud comment to other guests about her undergarment, according to the lawsuit.

The other host told the guest she couldn’t do that, but the guest laughed it off, the complaint said.

But, after the plaintiff and the other host submitted written statements to the casino about the incident, the lawsuit said, the plaintiff was scolded by one of the guests involved in the underwear incident as she was about to announce the next drawing winner.

The complaint said the plaintiff was berated in front of hundreds of people and her managers.

A few days later, the plaintiff emailed her supervisor about her security concerns and alleged that guests were not being properly controlled, but he never responded, the lawsuit claims.

She complained the next day to another manager. Then, during a meeting on Nov. 10, 2022, the lawsuit said, a casino promotions manager told the employees, “ ‘What you do with guests, you bring upon yourself,’ implying that the woman and others had invited the sexual harassment or berating from guests.”

On Nov. 22, the lawsuit said, the plaintiff’s’s supervisor accused her of loitering at the host podium for 15 minutes on one of her shifts.

A week later, the woman went to human resources to express concerns about ongoing sexual harassment, and, the complaint said, she was told that her concerns were outside the department’s purview.

But, according to the lawsuit, following an incident in early December 2022, it appeared the casino was taking action.

That Dec. 4, a customer made a lewd comment about the boots the plaintiff was wearing. She immediately reported the comment to her supervisors and completed a written statement.

The next day, her boss told the woman that the customer was going to be banned from the casino for a year.

She later learned the ban was reduced to less than a month.

During a meeting with a casino executive to discuss the plaintiff’s emotional state following the alleged sexual harassment, the complaint said, she was told “that she needed to get comfortable being ‘out of her norm.’ ”

Several days later, the executive told the plaintiff she was being unproductive and questioned why being harassed would affect her performance, the complaint said.

The plaintiff was fired on Dec. 29, 2022, for alleged insubordination, according to the complaint.

Jack Horner, a spokesman for the casino, said he could not comment on pending litigation.