DraftKings announced earlier this week it would file a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that alleged it colluded with a prominent sports bettor to abed a violent attack on a former VIP customer. The company forcibly pushed back against these accusations in prior court documents.
“ plaintiff fails to state claims for aiding and abetting assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence claims against DraftKings,” according to the letter. The plaintiff will then have 30 days to respond, after which DraftKings can further reply to such motion. A decision on dismissing the case could come as early as August.
The plaintiff, filed in the complaint as a “John Doe,” also alleges DraftKings intentionally locked him from his sports betting account by changing the associated email address. Such a move would be a massive breech of state gambling regulations and derail the customer protections and public trust that has made DraftKings one of the nation’s highest-grossing sportsbooks. Further investigations from multiple outlets indicate that Doe is Steven Jacobs, the plaintiff's lawyer.
Jacobs made a name for himself on the professional poker scene in the early 2000s under the name “Stevesbets.” He won nearly $200,000 at World Series of Poker events between 2005 and 2007. To avoid paying back the money, Kyrollos wrote on X that Jacobs had abused his position as an attorney at the Herbert Smith Freehills law firm to file a false claim with New York gaming regulators. Jacobs was reportedly terminated from his firm the day after the original story was published.