Why Hospital Lawsuit Win Means Nothing to Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks, one of the most popular stars in country music history, will receive $1 million from an Oklahoma hospital that failed to build a women's health center in honor of the country star's deceased mother.

The amount is roughly half of the revenue generated from one of Brooks' shows at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, which charges $225 per ticket before tax. There are currently 24 shows left for Brooks to perform at the Wynn. Assuming the theater fills to capacity of 1,845 people, Brooks will generate a revenue of $9,963,000 in his final 24-shows stint at the Wynn.

Troyal Garth Brooks vs Integris Rural Health Inc.

Brooks filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon, Oklahoma after a string of disputed events concerning a donation Brooks had made to the hospital. Brooks says he reached a verbal deal with hospital president James Moore in 2005 to build a women's center using the money he had donated to the hospital.

The sickening twist: Brooks had only donated $500,000 to the hospital, but will be paid an additional $500,000 in punitive damages.

Brooks reportedly sent an anonymous $500,000 check to the hospital in December 2005. Weeks later, Brooks called the hospital to claim responsibility for the anonymous donation.

Brooks sued Integris Rural Health Inc., the largest health care system in Oklahoma, in 2009 after the company refused to return his donation.

Integris tried to return the $500,000 after the lawsuit was filed, but it was too late. Brooks refused to pull back on the lawsuit, and he refused the return offer from the hospital. To boot, he claimed that the hospital lured him into making the donation according to court documents.

Though the hospital never built the women's center, it was able to prove that it had never spent the $500,000 donation. In the end, it didn't matter. In Yukon, Oklahoma, the place where Garth Brooks grew up and where his name dons the town's water tower, it's tough to swing the popular vote.

In the court of public opinion, we're not going to win, said Hardy Watkins, vice president of marketing and communication for Integris, before the trail began. After the trial, Watkins did not mention Brooks' tribute, instead saying, We are very disappointed the jury awarded dollars above the original donation.

Brooks' Country Music Legacy

Garth Brooks is far from new to the idea of success. He's one of the highest grossing country music stars based on record sales alone. And that doesn't include his incredibly successful string of concerts throughout his career. Or merchandise, for that matter.

As of 2009, when the lawsuit against Integris was filed, Brooks had sold more than 128 million albums in the United States alone, second only to the Beatles, who sold 170 million albums. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which tallies record sales, lists six of Brooks' albums with 10 million or more copies sold.

Brooks has also run a limited series of concerts in Las Vegas since 2010, where tickets were originally $125 per seat, then raised to $225 per seat without tax. The theater capacity of the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, which is where the concerts have taken place, is 1,845, meaning that $415,125 is generated in ticket sales for every sold out show.

Brooks' has also raked in cash during concert sales earlier in his life, including 1996 when Brooks was the second-highest grossing artist to tour that year. During his1996 concert, Brooks grossed $34.5 million from his tour. His per-show gross at the time was nearly $842,000, compared to Kiss, which was the highest grossing tour that year, who earned $582,000 per show.

Garth Brooks Gives Back

Brooks is the founder of Teammates for Kids Foundation, which provides financial aid to children's charities. The charity works closelsey with professional athletes, celebrities, organizations and fans to develop new concepts that will help raise money for charities for children. All sports dvisision consist of atheletes who contribute a predetermined sum based on slected categories for their ingame performance. The foundation has averaged donating $7 million per year in cash, scholarships and gifts to children's projects.

Brooks also famously played several concerts to benefit he victims of the California wildfires of 2008. All five shows in Los Angeles sold out in less than an hour. Brooks raised $6 million for wildfire recovery efforts.

Once again, in 2010, Brooks played shows to benefit disaster victims. Brooks played nine shows in less than a week in Nashville to raise money for victims of the Nashville flood. The nine shows raised $3.5 million for flood relief efforts.