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Hawaii News

Aiea man sues casino over restroom robbery

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Calvin Kawamura was treated in a Las Vegas hospital in 2010 after he was beaten and robbed at Main Street Station. The Hawaii man is suing the hotel.

A Hawaii man is suing a Las Vegas hotel and casino where he was beaten and robbed in 2010, claiming Main Street Station was negligent in not providing enough security in a long, dark hallway that leads to rest­rooms.

Calvin Kawamura and his wife, Jeanie, of Aiea, filed the lawsuit last week in federal court.

The Kawamuras say they were playing slot machines on the main casino floor in May 2010. It was about 3 a.m. when Calvin Kawa­mura, then 68, headed to the rest­room and was attacked by a homeless man later arrested by Las Vegas police.

Kawamura was knocked unconscious and robbed by the man, who "wandered unimpeded into the Main Street Station casino where he was able to lay in wait undetected in a bathroom tucked away at the end of a long, dark and isolated corridor," the lawsuit states.

No security guards or personnel were at or near the rest­room, the lawsuit said.

Main Street Station operator Boyd Gaming Corp. declined to comment.

Because Main Street Station targets Hawaii residents who frequent Las Vegas, it should be a place that’s safe for visitors, the couple’s attorney, Edmund Saffery, said Thursday. "They make it appear like it’s your home away from home," he said of the casino, where dealers wear aloha shirts. "It’s like you never left Hawaii."

The Kawamuras, who started visiting Las Vegas more often during their retirement years, opted to stay at Main Street Station because of the many advertisements they received, Saffery said.

Kawamura suffers physical and emotional problems related to the attack, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by Hawaii News Now.

The Kawamuras are seeking unspecified financial damages.

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