Case Two: The White Arch Casino

Enoch Thompson was employed for several years as a dealer at the White Arch Casino (WAC) in Las Vegas, Nevada. WAC is one of Colossal Corporation's entertainment/gaming division companies. Over the years, Thompson developed a reputation as one of the most skillful high-stakes poker dealers in Nevada. He was often requested by top poker players at the Texas Hold'em Tournament of Champions, a televised annual event in Las Vegas.

Nine months ago, Thompson was approached by Shirley Eugest, the manager of the Venetian Flamingo Casino—a rival company of WAC. Eugest offered Thompson a substantial salary increase to leave WAC and come to work for her. Thompson agreed to think about this offer and get back to Eugest in 48 hours. When he returned to WAC, he asked several of the other dealers what they thought about the offer. One of those dealers immediately went to WAC's manager, Sal Pending, and told him the details of Eugest's offer to Thompson.

Upon hearing of the offer, Pending called Thompson into his office and said: "If you stay with WAC, I promise that next year you will receive a promotion with a 50 percent raise and a five-year contract." This sounded good to Thompson, and he turned down the offer from Eugest to stay with WAC. However, last week he was dismissed from WAC due to corporate downsizing. Although nothing has happened at this point, the vice president of human resources is concerned that Thompson might try to hold WAC to Pending's promise.

Your task is to research the issue and write a memo to the vice president answering the following questions: Can Thompson legally enforce Pending's promise? What theory or theories might Thompson use to try to enforce Pending's promise? If Thompson were to file a lawsuit and win, what sort of damages or other remedies might he be entitled to? Include the reasoning process you used and any evidence that lead you to your conclusions.

Finally, regardless of the legal implications, the vice president would like your view on the ethical issues. Was the promise legally enforceable? Was the promise morally enforceable? Is it right to downsize Thompson?