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Feb. 14, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Fire loss at Monte Carlo totals nearly $100 million

By HOWARD STUTZ
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Monte Carlo utility porter Tammy Owensby cleans the lobby floor Wednesday as the resort is readied for reopening on Friday.
Photo by Clint Karlsen.

While workers readied the Monte Carlo for its return to business this week, MGM Mirage officials said Wednesday that damage at the 3,000-room Strip resort during a rooftop fire three weeks ago will total just under $100 million.

The tally includes the business that was lost when MGM Mirage was forced to shut the resort's 100,000-square-foot casino and other public areas on Jan. 25. The property will reopen 1,200 guest rooms at 11 a.m. Friday in time for Presidents Day weekend. The resort's casino, most of the hotel's restaurants, the property's meeting and convention facilities and the 1,200-seat Lance Burton Theater also will reopen Friday.

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    • Reporters and photographers were given a brief tour of the hotel Wednesday and shown repairs being made to several rooms on the eighth and ninth floors of the resort. The media was not allowed to view the upper floors of the hotel tower where rooms sustained significant smoke and water damage during the three-alarm fire.

    MGM Mirage Senior Vice President Alan Feldman said almost every floor in the hotel tower had some type of water damage as a result of fighting the fire.

    On some floors, hallway carpeting had to be replaced along with some room interiors, including draperies, bedding and carpeting.

    Rooms on floors 27 through 32 received the most damage and some of the top floor rooms had to be stripped to the concrete frames. Feldman said the company couldn't give an estimate as to how many of the Monte Carlo's rooms were damaged.

    MGM Mirage carries significant business interruption and fire insurance, but Feldman said it was unclear how much of its losses will be recovered. The damage assessment included the portions of the hotel's exterior facade along the roof that has been removed, water damage to the hotel rooms and interior, and lost business revenues.

    "When it is all totaled, we believe the cost for the repairs will not be over $100 million," Feldman said.

    MGM Mirage expects to reopen an additional 1,300 hotel rooms on Feb. 22 while the remaining 500 rooms on the upper floors will be out of commission for an extended time period.

    The fire, which was contained to the roof and upper levels of the hotel tower, sent thick, black smoke spewing across the valley. County fire inspectors blamed flying molten metal and a lack of safety measures by construction workers for the fire. Welders working atop the hotel were using a hand-held torch to cut corrugated steel for a rooftop walkway when the hot metal, called slag, triggered the fast-moving fire that spread across the top of the hotel, burning flammable foam that was used in the exterior design.

    The company blamed for the fire, Union Erectors, disputes the Fire Department's report, saying its workers followed proper safety procedures and had the proper work permit needed for the job.

    The fire caused the evacuation of an estimated 5,000 guests and 1,000 employees and led to the temporary shutdown of Las Vegas Boulevard.

    MGM Mirage moved its guests to other company resorts the day of the fire and transferred Monte Carlo reservations to other MGM Mirage properties during the past three weeks.

    Feldman said Wednesday it was unclear how many of the Monte Carlo's rooms have been booked for this weekend.

    "We just opened the spigot on Monday," Feldman said. "We probably won't know until we open the doors."

    Gaming analysts said the fire's cost would not affect the overall outlook for the casino company, which has experienced similar disruptions in the past. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina closed the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss., for a year and the company recovered $635 million in insurance proceeds.

    "Fundamentally, it's not an issue," said Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Lerner of the fire. He estimated the company would have $20 million to $30 million in lost revenue, but that would not drastically hurt its earnings in the first quarter.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3871.

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    GRACEFUL wrote on February 14, 2008 06:53 PM: I'M HAPPY THE MONTE CARLO IS RE-OPENING ITS DOORS. ALSO HAPPY THAT ALL IS WELL. LET'S STOP MAKING ASSUMPTIONS AND SAYING DUMB THINGS. ALSO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE BORDER? STOP RACISM AND YOUR NEGATIVE COMMENTS. WE ARE ALL THE SAME. PEOPLE WHO HAVE A HEART DON'T MAKE COMMENTS LIKE TERRI AND BRAD. SORRY YOU PEOPLE ARE SO MISERABLE. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOU. DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE OTHERS DO UNTO YOU.


    GRACEFUL wrote on February 14, 2008 06:47 PM: I AM HAPPY THE MONTE CARLO IS OPENING IT'S DOORS. WE SHOULD ALL BE GRATEFUL NO ONE WAS HURT IN THAT HORRIBLE INCIDENT. WHY CRITIZE AND ASSUME ALL OF THE NEGATIVE THINGS BRAD AND TERRI HAVE BEEN SAYING. NOT ALL OF US THINK THE WAY THEY DO. LIVE AND LET LIVE. STOP RACISM. WHAT DOES THE BORDER HAVE TO DO HERE. HOPE YOU AND TERRI ASK GOD FOR FORGIVENES. BECAUSE WHAT YOU SAID COMES FROM THE KIND OF HEART YOU HAVE. AND BY THE LOOKS OF IT YOU DON'T HAVE ONE.


    the chad wrote on February 14, 2008 04:58 PM: Is it me, or does anyone else find it strange that the media was not allowed to see the upper floors (I'm sure they are worried about safety etc, but I for one would be interested in seeing the inside damage) it also seems odd that good ol' Feldman can't tell us how many rooms are booked or how many rooms are damaged. As a former hotel manager using similar booking systems, I could tell at any given moment how many rooms where booked and at what rate they were being booked at. As far as how many rooms are damaged, did he forget how to count? Maybe they are scared that the RJ will unleash a can of county inpesction investigation on all their resorts and are trying to cover up, opps, I mean give as little info as possible to keep the fire storm, no pun intended, from getting bigger. I'll think twice before entering that building anytime soon.


    All of Las Vegas wrote on February 14, 2008 02:08 PM: Sounds like Brad and Terri are tranplants, Welcome to Nevada and the racist southern 1950's will surely miss you. We are so lucky. Terri, economy! Get a job and stop posting at 11am, you should be working or spending to help the economy.



    Terri wrote on February 14, 2008 10:53 AM: If you folks only knew how pathetic you sound, hooting and hollering over a casino re-opening...Would you carry on as much if the World Trade Center were rebuilt and re-opened ??? Something tells me no..I agree with Brad, you all need to get lives and find something to do other than donate to casinos and believe they are good for the national economy....


    fire marshall bill wrote on February 14, 2008 10:31 AM: yay,yay,yay!are they going to have fireworks for their grandopening too?


    rebel wrote on February 14, 2008 09:21 AM: Good job Brad. You criticize grammar and then misspell in your post.

    There were significant losses from the fire, and we are all happy that no lives were lost. Lost wages mean lost revenue for plenty of other businesses, which in turn lead to lost tax dollars, etc. It effects everyone in Nevada.

    I am glad to see how fast MGM Mirage is acting to get everything re-opened.


    brad wrote on February 14, 2008 08:51 AM: Great grammar...must have tumbled over the border with a lot fo the rest of the population at the Monte Carlo....


    monte carlo worker wrote on February 14, 2008 08:28 AM: Brad,

    Your comments are insensitive and moronic. There are plenty on hard working men and women with families that have been impacted by this fire. Your comments a rooted in jealousy and anger, but I know you are most likely a good person who desperately needs a change on scenery. Brad we all make a decision either to help or hurt others. I have a feeling the people in your life who needed your help choose someone else. But, if you choose not a help, do the community a favor go back miserable place you came from.


    Chris wrote on February 14, 2008 08:01 AM: Wow Brad. You a little bitter at the success of others? I am sure the reason these figures were stated is that your beloved press in Vegas asked them. Keep in mind that casinos are a reason you pay no state income taxes; or do you not work anyway.


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