Vegas Gambler Adds Paramount and Ellisons to Suit Against Jeff Shell Over Purported PR Contract

A Las Vegas gambler has added Paramount Skydance and Larry and David Ellison to his lawsuit against executive Jeff Shell, escalating a dispute over purported off-the-books PR services.

R.J. Cipriani sued Shell, the president of Paramount, last week, claiming he is owed $150 million for services performed under an unwritten contract for crisis communications services. Shell fired back on Monday, accusing Cipriani of defamation and extortion and of seeking to exploit their fleeting association to extract an undeserved payday.

In an amended complaint on Tuesday, Cipriani added Paramount, the Ellisons, RedBird Capital and the members of the Paramount board to the list of defendants, accusing them of negligent supervision of Shell.

“Paramount is aware of the frivolous lawsuit and believes the claims are entirely without merit,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement. “There is no factual or legal basis for any claim against Paramount, its directors or its major shareholders,…