A grieving widow is taking legal action against a well-known Las Vegas hotel after her husband’s tragic death during a $1,000 encounter with a prostitute.
Jennifer Jacoby has filed a lawsuit against the owners of The Palazzo, claiming the resort failed to prevent her husband, Jeff Jacoby, from falling victim to a dangerous setup.
Jeff, 55, a father of three from Colorado, had traveled to Vegas for a work conference in March 2023 when he met sex worker Cheylee Kessee at the hotel bar around 1 a.m.
According to the lawsuit, Kessee was working with a pimp, Kashon Glass, and the two had a pattern of targeting hotel guests. Security footage showed Kessee and Jeff walking around the casino floor for 40 minutes before heading to the cashier’s cage, where Jeff withdrew $1,000. Glass followed closely behind.
Minutes later, Jeff and Kessee went up to his hotel room. She was seen leaving just eight minutes after entering.
When Jennifer hadn’t heard from Jeff for hours, she grew concerned. After multiple unanswered messages, she called the hotel, asking for a welfare check.
Staff later found Jeff unresponsive, slumped on the bathroom floor. He had overdosed on fentanyl and had also been robbed.
Jennifer and her daughters have now filed a lawsuit against The Palazzo’s owners, Venetian Casino Resort LLC, arguing that casino security should have stepped in. The lawsuit claims hotel staff should have warned Jeff that he was being followed and that Kessee and Glass had a known history of targeting guests.
University of Nevada law professor Ben Edwards weighed in on the case, saying the lawsuit could have merit.
“Anytime you invite somebody onto your property, you have an obligation to make sure the place is safe,” Edwards told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The question is whether it was unreasonable for the casino not to monitor or communicate about this kind of risk.”
The lawsuit does not specify how much the family is seeking in damages.
Kessee and Glass were initially charged with murder for supplying the lethal dose of fentanyl but later took a plea deal. Glass received a 50-year sentence and will be eligible for parole after 20 years. Kessee was sentenced to 20 years and may be paroled after eight.
In an obituary, Jennifer remembered Jeff as her soulmate and twin flame. The couple met in North Dakota in 1990 before moving to Colorado, where they raised their three daughters.
“Jeff went on to raise three girls, which was one of the great joys of his life,” the obituary read. “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.”
Hubby stepping out on wife is not hotel’s responsibility. He was old enough to know right from wrong. He chose wrong. Karma.
Sorry, but the hotel didn’t make him go with the ho!