A California man on a Christmas holiday to the Las Vegas Strip woke up to an appalling surprise when a scorpion allegedly crawled out from his bedsheets and stung him on the testicles. 8NewsNow reported the incident, which took place last December 26 at the Venetian Resort, home of the fabled Sphere.
Michael Farci recalled waking in a burning pain, unaware of what could be causing such an extreme sensation. “I just felt like somebody stabbing me in my private area,” he told the outlet. “It felt like a sharp glass or a knife.”
After disrobing, Farchi found the source of concern. “I went to the restroom, and I saw a scorpion hanging on my underwear,” he marveled.
According to an incident report, the event occurred at around 8 a.m. “I have been bitten by scorpion at my groin/testicles [sic],” Farci wrote, adding that he was in “a lot of pain.” When asked by the form, “Whom do you consider to blame?” Farci simply wrote, “The Venetian.”
Farci and his lawyer, Brian Virag, shared photos that the victim took off his blue underwear, with a neon-orange, barely visible scorpion resting right on the fly.
“I didn’t even ask how it got in the room,” Farchi said. “It was just under my cover…“Everybody was in shock, nobody believed,” Farchi said. “Even I couldn’t believe it.”
He and his family stayed for one more day, but they checked out on Dec. 27, earlier than planned. The cost of his stay was refunded by the Venetian.
Virag told 8NewsNow that, though the Venetian certainly has procedures in place to prevent desert animals from infiltrating guest’s quarters, he believes the rules were not being properly followed.
But the hotel disputed this in a statement to the outlet. “The resort has protocols for all incidents and we can confirm they were followed in this incident,” they maintained.
Virag recommended all hotel guests do a thorough sweep of their accommodations before laying down to rest. Farci has not filed a suit yet, but is considering taking legal action. The hotel could likely smooth things over by offering him a few tickets to U2’s Sphere residency, though.
