On the morning after Christmas, Michael Farchi was lying in bed at the Venetian when he received the worst gift imaginable: A scorpion stung his testicles.
Now, with his sex life allegedly in shambles, he’s suing the Las Vegas resort over incurred and ongoing medical costs, in addition to general and punitive damages.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Farchi’s recently filed lawsuit claims the Venetian, which is owned by New York-based Apollo Global Management, was aware of “infestations of poisonous, deadly scorpions” on its property but “deliberately and recklessly” chose not to deal with the prickly problem.
While Venetian officials declined to comment on the lawsuit, it said at the time of the incident that resort staff followed proper protocols for the scorpion attack, which came fully to the fore when Farchi, having felt a “stabbing” pain in his genital area, trekked to the bathroom, where he observed the venomous insect hanging from his boxer shorts.
The lawsuit portrays the Venetian’s response to the incident in an unflattering light. Farchi claims that after confirming the “presence of a deadly scorpion” on his drawers, resort staff “merely laughed at him” instead of assisting him.
Farchi, who was also stung in the hand and received treatment at two different hospitals, claims to now suffer from PTSD and erectile dysfunction. As for the latter of those conditions, his wife is claiming emotional distress due to “loss of consortium,” the lawsuit states.
