The widow of a Colorado man who died after an encounter with a Las Vegas sex worker is suing the Palazzo hotel, claiming the casino failed to prevent the deadly incident.
Jennifer Jacoby, whose husband Jeff Jacoby, 55, died on March 1, 2023, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Venetian Casino Resort LLC, the hotel’s owner.
The suit argues that casino security failed to protect her husband from known predators targeting hotel guests for robbery and exploitation, the New York Post reports.
A Deadly Encounter in the Palazzo
Jacoby had traveled to Las Vegas for a business trip when he met Cheylee Kessee, a 24-year-old prostitute, at the Palazzo’s hotel bar at 1:00AM.
The two were spotted walking around the casino floor for 40 minutes before Jacoby withdrew $1,000 from a cashier’s cage.
Kessee’s pimp, Kashon Glass, 38, was seen following them.
Jacoby and Kessee then went up to his hotel room, but Kessee left just eight minutes later. Hours passed without any response from Jacoby, prompting his wife to call the hotel for a welfare check.
When hotel staff entered the room, they found Jacoby slumped on the bathroom floor, unresponsive.
He had been robbed, with his phone and wallet missing.
An autopsy confirmed that Jacoby died of a fentanyl overdose, and his death was ruled a homicide.
The Lawsuit Against the Palazzo
Jennifer Jacoby claims in her lawsuit that the casino failed to warn her husband that he was being followed by Glass and that Kessee and Glass had a history of robbing hotel guests.
“Anytime you invite somebody onto your property, you have an obligation to make sure the place is safe,” said Ben Edwards, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“The question the court will figure out is whether it was unreasonable for the casino to not monitor, or not communicate, for this sort of thing.”
The lawsuit does not specify how much in damages the Jacoby family is seeking.
VT has reached out to Venetian Casino Resort, which owns the Palazzo, for a comment.
The Fate of Kessee and Glass
Both Kessee and Glass were charged with murder but later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and robbery in a plea deal.
Glass was sentenced to 50 years in prison but could be paroled after 20. Kessee was sentenced to 20 years and may be eligible for parole after eight.
Kessee admitted to police that she and Jacoby smoked fentanyl together before he died.
A Family Devastated
Jeff is described as being a devoted husband and father of three daughters. His obituary described his love for family, faith, and life.
“Jeff Jacoby ran home to Jesus on March 1st, 2023,” it read, per the Daily Mail.
“He attended Moorhead High School and graduated from Moorhead State University with a degree in accounting.
“Jeff met and married Jenny, his soulmate and twin flame in Fargo, North Dakota in 1990.’
“Jeff went on to raise three girls which was one of the great joys of his life – from soccer games every weekend, ballet recitals, and piano practices to high school graduations, college dorm move-ins, first jobs, and a wedding,” the obituary continued.
“He was there for every moment and milestone, cheering his girls on daily.
“His wife, Jenny, was the greatest love of his life aside from the Lord. They went everywhere and did everything together.”
Now, Jennifer is fighting for accountability, insisting that her husband’s tragic death could have been prevented.
