Woman Suing Pennsylvania Casino After Burst Pipe Drenches Her in 💩 💩 💩

Rita Romagnoli is suing the Live! Casino Pittsburgh, at the Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, claiming that a burst sewage pipe left her “drenched with human fecal matter” while she was playing slots there this summer.

According to Romagnoli and her husband, Robert, they were playing at Live! Casino on July 28 when the incident occurred. 

Doctors Say Fecal Matter Caused Bacterial Pneumonia

Romagnoli was enjoying a session on the slot machines when she says the pipe burst above her, leaving her covered in what was initially an unknown substance.

“She didn’t know what had fallen on her, but it didn’t take her long to figure out it smelled pretty bad,” attorney Joseph Hudock Jr., who is representing the couple, said via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 

Romagnoli then went home and showered before returning to the casino. It wasn’t until a couple days later that she became sick with bacterial pneumonia, which she says kept her in the hospital for 15 days, according to the lawsuit. 

Doctors confirmed that Romagnoli had been exposed to human fecal matter.

“It was very traumatizing,” Hudock said. “She could have died.”

The lawsuit alleges that the pipe burst due to negligence, as they casino and mall were aware of the ongoing dangerous conditions. In the civil suit, it is alleged that the family suffered pain, suffering, inconvenience, embarrassment, mental anguish, as well as both emotional and psychological trauma. 

Live! Casino operator Stadium Casino is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Romagnoli and her husband are seeking $30,000 in damages. 

Second Woman Reported Burst Pipe Incident

Romagnoli isn’t the only person alleging that they were victimized by burst pipes at the casino. Another woman, who wished to remain unidentified, told television station KDKA-TV that a similar incident impacted her at Live! Casino. 

“I was sitting at a slot machine, and all of a sudden water came pouring down on me and another gentleman that I did not know that was sitting at the slot machine next to me. It was in my hair. It hit my face, and it was all over my clothes. I mean, I was like, literally, soaking wet,” the woman told KDKA-TV. “I was a little more concerned because I didn’t know what the water was. They assured me that they thought it was just regular water and everything.” 

The unnamed woman told KDKA-TV that she was thankful she didn’t get sick as a result of that incident.

The Live! Casino at the Westmoreland Mall opened in November 2020, taking over a renovated space that was the former home of the Bon-Ton store. The casino features 750 slot machines, 50 table games, and a sportsbook.

This isn’t the first time that Stadium Casino has been in the news this year for negative activity at one of its Pennsylvania casino properties. Earlier this summer, the Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia paid a $100,000 fine to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board for taking nearly $300,000 in sports bets over the phone in 2022, which violated both the casino’s sportsbook policies and state regulations.