Quantcast
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon

sponsored by
News


County inspects five Strip hotels

Suspect remodeling at more Harrah's properties assessed




County inspectors were out in force Friday to take a first look at remodeling thought to have been done without permits at five more Strip hotels owned by Harrah's Entertainment.

The company has been researching all past projects at its local hotels, even work done by prior owners. During the past two weeks, Harrah's has voluntarily disclosed to the county all projects that company officials think are suspect, a Harrah's Entertainment executive said late Friday afternoon.


Most Popular Stories
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • FATAL SHOOTING: Police again mourn comrade
  • NORM: Biden finds rank has its privileges
  • Corrections officer dies in collision on U.S. 95
  • Two suspects in officer's slaying could face death penalty
  • Two of three suspects in slaying of officer could face death penalty
  • DEADLY HOME INVASION: Police suspect link to family
  • Station Casinos posts $455 million third-quarter loss
  • NORM: Walton: Coach deserved a punch
  • ANOTHER SOMBER DAY: Fourth officer in short span dies




  • Bally's, Caesars Palace, the Imperial Palace, Paris Las Vegas and Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon are the latest properties to come under the magnifying glass of fire and building inspectors.

    "We brought forward this information as soon as we completed the review, again, fully cooperating with the county," said Marybel Batjer, Harrah's vice president of public policy and communications.

    After remodeling problems at the Rio came to light last fall, the gaming company embarked on a comprehensive review of past capital improvements to ferret out work that went without permits.

    In addition to the five newly named hotels, Batjer said Harrah's has uncovered more questionable work at three hotels that already have received publicity for violations of building and safety codes: Flamingo Las Vegas, Harrah's Las Vegas and the Rio.

    She characterized the projects that the county now is assessing as "very dated and minor in nature, both in terms of ... cost and what was done."

    Since some projects took place years before Harrah's acquired the properties, the company's internal research has taken a long time, Batjer said.

    It still is possible, she said, that long-since-filed permits might turn up, which will legitimize what now is undocumented work.

    Inspectors were expected by the end of Friday to have visited all the Strip properties in question to identify "any life-safety issue that might need to be addressed" immediately, county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said Friday.

    It's too early to say whether any of the work done is defective, she added.

    Contact reporter Joan Whitely at jwhitely@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0268.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 13 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    nvkorruption wrote on March 24, 2008 11:07 AM: Whatever happened to all the defect problems with new homes that was in the news three or four years back?


    venetianwhistleblower wrote on March 22, 2008 09:56 PM: They should look at the palazzo and the venetian!!! Heck they advertise daycare for their employees but the daycare is so overcrowded where is the county on that one


    -the chad wrote on March 22, 2008 08:41 PM: I just canceled my Harrah's Visa card. They get a % of what I and everyone else charge. While on the face it might not seem to impact their bottom line, however, if everyone does it, they will surely see some effects. There are plenty of other casino's to dontate my gambling dollars to, and that's my goal. Unfortunatley this is probably a more wide-spread issue that just Harrah's. I wonder about their remodel project at the Grand Casino in Tunica, Ms where they are putting in a Paula Dean Buffet. Was just there not too long ago and didn't see any permits hanging around the construction area. I smell another investigation around the corner!


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on March 22, 2008 05:22 PM: Anyone that is a potential whistleblower who is afraid...please contact me at:

    harrahswhistleblower@gmail.com

    and I will assist you in any way that I can without exposing your identity. This is not restricted to just Harrah's owned properties. Remember you can make a difference without fear of being retaliated against...know that there are other people here to help you. We cannot continue to look the other way anymore...silence is not the answer - ACCOUNTABILITY is. Contact me you will not be disappointed.


    Panorama Towers wrote on March 22, 2008 03:51 PM: Panorama Towers plumbing is beginning to fail...mold has been discovered!

    Did anyone inspect the plumbing installs?


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on March 22, 2008 03:35 PM: Gary Loveman:

    Texas Pacific Group & Apollo have about the same low ethical standards as you d...what a good team you make! You have rewarded those in your organization that act as good little sheep - people that we now know would have also looked the other way if they had worked in any of the Endoscopy Centers responsible for putting their patients in harms way. You have successfully accomplished building a "Good Old Boy" network throughout the Harrah's organization...an organization which promotes cutting corners in many areas of your business. One of the biggest problems you face Mr. Loveman is the fact that you have more skeletons in your vast closet, but you already know this Gary and if you don't you should be let go for being incompetent & inept! I find it very interesting that you have tried to protect those responsible for the illegal remodels, and thus far you have been successful...thus far. Just remember when you ride high Mr. Loveman it can be a long humbling fall to the bottom, and you are at the top of the heap of poop that is called Harrah's Entertainment Inc..

    Let's talk about the OSHA asbestos reports that I have in my possession showing how much you valued your employees over the years by breaking State & Federal Laws. You put us at risk Mr. Loveman because both you & your company are arrogant beyond belief...truly believing that you are above the law. Do you sleep well at night knowing that you failed to protect both your employees & guests?...or is it that you don't really care?

    Keep betting against me Mr. Loveman and believing that this is almost over...because nobody believed that it would get this far and it did...justice could be right around the corner!


    nvkorruption wrote on March 22, 2008 12:03 PM: A citizen coalition to actively protect the
    interests of Nevada residents, taxpayers and voters against
    corruption at the polls and in cooperation with federal agencies
    and through legal actions is needed here in Nevada.


    Travis wrote on March 22, 2008 10:31 AM: Make a statement the casino's will hear and acknowledge; boycott them. Boycott all of Harrah's properties. Don't go to any of their clubs, bars, shows, or restaurants. They want our business, don't give it to them. Locals who give Harrah's their business are simply enabling them to continue risking our lives. It is not enough to boycott the five properties cited in this article, boycotting everything Harrah's owns will impact them directly.


    Balto Bob wrote on March 22, 2008 10:11 AM: Interesting how this changes one thinking. I was at Harrahs in Feb. Insted of thinking "how nice" of the flat screen TV in the bathroom. I wondered where the wiring came from. Also the wardrobe/dresser/minibar is built INTO the wall. I remember the minibar being a stand alone several years ago.


    LittleBird wrote on March 22, 2008 09:37 AM: Marybel Batjer,surely you jest! How can the public believe anything you say about any "suspect projects" decisions made by Harrah's. It appears you wasn't without issue by the manner in which Harrah's was trying not adhere to the building codes and rules to start with.Something "minor in nature" to you could mean another life safety issue that was not properly addressed. If you are not making enough profits from the industry to be able to afford to maintain your property,you need a lot of help (new). If your department management doesn't know the rules you still need more help (baddly).It should be very simple to track the permits through the County.Give them a permit number and they will track it and tell you the status of the permit.In most cases the County will terminate a permit if it remains dormant for 90 days. If you don't have the permit numbers,it is very probable that you did not get a permit.If your management can't keep records well enough to see how the money was spent,you need new managers.If they do not know what life safety issues are,you definitly need new help.Please quit trying to white wash these issues,it's nobodies fault but your own that the your management made bad calls.Everyone has a boss.


    Read All Comments