A federal lawsuit filed against Boyd Gaming Corp., the Cannery, Station Casinos, and Santa Fe Station alleges that these casinos enabled sex trafficking by Nathan Chasing Horse, who was recently sentenced to 37 years to life for sexually assaulting two victims. The suit claims the casinos ignored obvious signs of trafficking occurring on their premises between 2014 and 2022, such as suspicious traffic to Chasing Horse’s hotel room and victims showing signs of abuse and neglect. Plaintiffs’ attorney Alex Marcinko seeks institutional accountability, arguing that the hotels financially benefited from renting rooms used for trafficking and that staff acted as lookouts to warn Chasing Horse of police activity.

The complaint accuses the casinos of negligence and infliction of emotional distress, asserting they either knew or should have known about the trafficking. It also alleges that the Cannery and Santa Fe staff actively assisted Chasing Horse by alerting him to law enforcement presence and providing gifts to maintain his business. Representatives for the casinos declined to comment, while Chasing Horse’s former attorney expressed skepticism about the plaintiffs’ ability to prove the casinos’ knowledge of the trafficking activities.