For state death care regulators, SCI has long been the 800 pound gorilla. Most state death care laws are decades old because the industry’s rank and file operators generally oppose change. To address problem operators (or problem business practices), the regulator employed ‘creative’ interpretations of the law (or regulation) to support broader enforcement powers. That strategy often worked with small operators who could not afford the legal expense required to challenge the regulator’s statutory authority. But when the strategy targeted a business practice, the regulator ran the risk of poking the gorilla. The gorilla’s response would often depend on how intrusive the regulator’s goal was to a preneed system that served multiple states. Historically, the dance between the regulator and the gorilla was more of a private affair. That dance changed in recent years because of regulators’ need for legislative reform. As witnessed in Missouri and Kansas, SCI blocked the first attempts to pass cemetery reform bills. With cemetery legislation looming in Wisconsin, Nebraska and Kansas, regulators (and interested parties) need to plan their dance card for a gorilla that is gaining substantial girth (and a vested interest in cemetery laws).