In the shadow of the Las Vegas Grand Prix and hundreds of millions of dollars in spinoffs: “Never has an event destroyed my city like F1 does”

LAS VEGAS | “F1 management could come into my office and we would resolve the problem by finding a fair solution in less than five minutes. We’d get along with a handshake worthy of Old School Vegas. The adage around here is that your best asset is your last name. But that’s not the reality with F1.”

Randy Markin, a Canadian born in Vancouver and arrived in Vegas as a child in the late 1950s, is engaged in a true legal battle worthy of David versus Goliath. For all the consequences and financial losses caused by the organization of the Grand Prix since the spring of 2023, he is suing F1, Liberty Media and his county of Clarke.

“Never has an event destroyed my city like F1,” says the owner of the Italian restaurant Battista’s Hole In The Wall, a recognized brand since the 1970s, in addition to the Stage Door bar and a convenience store. Located on Linq Avenue, one block from the Strip, they are also located on Flamingo Road, a major thoroughfare leading to Las Vegas Boulevard.

Tuesday, the Journal went to meet him. A thirty-minute discussion in his modest little office hidden in the maze of his business allowed us to understand the extent of the negative impacts of the Vegas Grand Prix on local businesses.

Markin’s business has been in free fall for more than 18 months.

More than 50% decrease

His restaurant saw its attendance drop by more than 50%. And his bar, mainly frequented by workers, follows the same trend.

“It’s horrible. Again this week, since Sunday, we are serving less than 300 seats. Usually we exceed 600. We are supposed to be full. Customers are calling to cancel their reservations because they can’t make it due to traffic and closures. We are recognized and we were the busiest restaurant off the Strip. This event forces businesses on Flamingo Road to close for the week, he thunders in an interview. This has never happened in the history of this city.

When the Journal passed by at supper time on Monday evening, we heard an unusual sound of crickets in his “old style” Italian restaurant, as he describes it.

Deplorable attitude from F1

Over the past six decades, he has had a front-row seat to the construction of the gaming capital of the world, watching gigantic casinos and resorts grow.

Vegas has held many major events. He witnessed it. But none of them have plunged so many companies into the red.

Markin has been vocal in the media since the inaugural edition last year. For good reason, at almost 70 years old, he is one of the rare traders to stand up and pursue those responsible for his setbacks, according to the court documents consulted.

With the road work, the temporary developments, the traffic caused by the construction of the circuit and the blockages of the roads leading to his businesses, he estimates having lost, according to the lawsuit filed, hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2023 and 2024.

But beyond the money, what stinks in his face is above all the attitude of F1.

“These people don’t give a damn. This is the first time that a company has arrived in Vegas and that it has not entered into the fabric of the city, explains the man who just wants to find what he lost. And God only knows how many companies have come here. No city in the world knows how to do things like we do by organizing major events, he said, noting the success of the Super Bowl last February.

“But why do citizens hate this race so much,” he asks. It’s because F1 walks around with its nose in the air, not caring about anything and destroying everything around it.

“They arrive on a private jet, pack their stuff and take off again for Denver. It doesn’t work like that around here.”

The local economy is struggling

In its public efforts, F1 says it listens to the city’s citizens and business owners, but the reality is quite different according to Markin. “She does not engage in the local economy and help drive it by supporting businesses negatively impacted by race.”

“And if F1 really cared about Vegas, we wouldn’t have to fight in court. It’s impossible to sit down with these people to talk, because they don’t care. They have no loyalty. And their way of doing things by believing themselves to be more important and stronger with their money no longer works these days. Especially not in this single market.”

Markin is not a subscriber to the courts to resolve his problems. Having owned a casino, hotel and other businesses in the past, he says he negotiated hard, confirming his agreements with the good old handshake.

This old way of doing things in Sin City is not in the cards in F1.