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Apr. 18, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Harrah's audit of remodeling since '00 stays under wraps

By JOAN WHITELY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
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Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon, a Harrah's Entertainment property, is shown Thursday at Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.

The county, a state board and a casino company each says it will not release a report that sheds light on undocumented, and therefore potentially unsafe, remodeling since 2000 at local hotels, through which millions of tourists and thousands of workers have passed.

Harrah's Entertainment, the casino company that compiled the report in question, contends it is an internal document, though it has shared the report with county building officials, who then shared it with the Nevada State Contractors Board.

The report is an audit that enumerates 34 "covert" remodel jobs at eight Harrah's-owned properties in Clark County. Some of the work occurred under other ownerships, before Harrah's bought the hotels.

Harrah's pinpointed the jobs by comparing capital expenditures against a record of construction permits.

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    • "We continue to work closely with the County on all the identified projects," wrote Marybel Batjer, a Harrah's Entertainment executive, when she turned down the Review-Journal's request for an audit copy.

    The county doesn't have to release the report because its legal counsel doesn't consider it a public record, spokeswoman Stacey Welling recently said. Mark Hinueber, general counsel for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said the newspaper was reviewing its options.

    The county, state board and casino company also have declined to disclose a combined dollar value for the 34 projects. Harrah's has claimed that the jobs were minor, both in dollar amount and building scope.

    When building inspectors in late March reviewed the work at the eight hotels singled out by the audit, they generated 68 pages of violation notices; some simply note a hotel location and a failure to obtain permits.

    On April 10, fire inspectors wrote up four pages of problems with the fire safety systems at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon, one of the eight properties. The fire issues affected only two guest rooms, a large party room and a computer room, according to records.

    Disclosing the projects' value would also give a hint on how much revenue the county lost when the hotels failed to pay permit fees.

    If Harrah's needs to remediate any faulty work connected with those 34 projects, the county will assess permit fees for the new work, Welling noted. In 2007, the county charged Harrah's $86,469 in fees for investigating past remodel projects.

    From the county, the Review-Journal obtained several recent letters sent between the county and the contractors board, which mention the carefully guarded audit.

    The letters were either sent by, or directed to, Greg Franklin, who is assistant director of Clark County Development Services, which houses the building division.

    The contractors board has not publicly acknowledged the audit's existence, beyond what George Lyford, its director of investigations, wrote in a March 31 letter to the county: "Seventeen (17) of the thirty-four (34) incidents identified (in the audit) ... are outside the statute of limitations (so) board counsel recommends no action should be taken" on the 17 incidents that happened before 2004.

    "We are not going to comment on an open investigation. The letter and the law speak for themselves," Art Nadler, a board spokesman, said. State law orders that information and documents about a complaint stay confidential until the board initiates disciplinary action.

    The 2007 Nevada Legislature reworked the law so now the contractors board can release information only on complaints that lead to disciplinary action. The board releases nothing on complaints that lead to a settlement between parties.

    Before, the board used to share upon request a five-year history for any contractor licensed in Nevada, including the numbers and outcomes of all complaints filed. The contractors board is eager to support new legislation in 2009 to undo the secrecy amendments, Nadler has said.

    On March 21, the contractors board wrote to Franklin that it had closed the county's complaint alleging Ford Contracting Co. did unlicensed remodeling of guest rooms at Harrah's Las Vegas. Three other complaints remain open, all filed by the county in regard to work at the Rio, Harrah's or a company warehouse.

    "Included on the project listing (in Harrah's audit of remodeling without permits) are names of contractors that Harrah's contends were involved with the projects," Franklin wrote back on March 21. To regulate contractors, the board can fine or cancel licenses for violations, such as doing construction without permits.

    The county also has declined to extract from the audit to make public a simple list of contractors names or even a count of how many contractors participated.

    Harrah's Batjer has said the company voluntarily undertook the remodeling audit.

    But David Roger, district attorney, recently said his staff had requested a reckoning of building safety in local Harrah's-owned hotels before moving ahead with arraignments of two Harrah's employees charged with misdemeanor violations of building and fire codes related to remodeling projects at the Rio and Harrah's Las Vegas, in which permits and inspections were bypassed.

    One defendant, Robert Bruna, had been chief facility engineer at Harrah's on the Strip. David "Skip" Matthews, the other, is facilities director at Rio. Justice Court officials reset the men's court dates to May 30 after discussions took place between Roger's office and Harrah's Entertainment, which was represented by lawyer Richard Bryan, the former governor and U.S. senator. The gaming company has announced it will change its name to Caesars Entertainment.

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



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    Concerned wrote on April 19, 2008 09:16 PM: Maybe it is time for this Deputy Kay Eggers to retire. Did we not read not to long ago Paris hand some suites shut down.


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on April 19, 2008 04:42 PM: News flash: Bill's & Drais have "fire watches" - this is part of the current round of Harrah's disclosures regarding more undocumented remodeling. Apparently, according to my sources at the hotel in Drais there is an issue with inadequate sprinkler head coverage & an illegal remodel in the kitchen. In total I am told that there are over 20 violations, but has Deputy Fire Marshall Kay Eggers closed anything down? But why should she be any different than her bosses up to and including Clark County Fire Chief Steven Smith - no citations at the Monte Carlo which is ludicrous considering the fact that if "Union Erectors" had not been welding on the roof there would not have been a fire. Union Erectors broke the law by not having the proper permit, and by not following proper safety procedures when welding. Everyone that cares should be asking both the Clark County Building & Fire Departments why they have not interviewed any of the Harrah's employees that participated in the illegal remodel projects. Let us not forget the Harrah's personnel that flat out lied to various agencies regarding these remodels such as: Tom Adams, Mike Whitehead, Leon Vermillion, Chris Lubera, just to name a few.

    George Lyford, the Director of Investigations for the Nevada Contractors Board appears to be another Richard Maddux - George, who else have you covered for? I called George and I guess he doesn't like people questioning his work...he should be fired first and then the Contractor's Board should be dismantled because it is ineffective, and from most of the comments that I have seen pretty much a joke just like the Governor.

    David Roger, be sure to listen closely to Richard Bryan...because if you cross Harrah's it just might be political suicide.


    Brandi wrote on April 18, 2008 03:55 PM: The RJ should bury these crooks before something tragic happens.
    If the GCC had any guts they would revoke Harrah's license.
    Tell that fat Loveman and his McHarrah's crooks to take a long walk out of the state.

    "We removed the paper from our gift shop to cut costs"-Harrah's

    "It had nothing to do with out stories on them" -RJ

    Grow some balls and destroy these corrupt thieves.


    nvkorruption wrote on April 18, 2008 11:29 AM: The situation is similar with the indigent defense matter. We have
    the DA,Public Defender, District Court Judges, the Nevada Supreme
    Court, and the Attorney General covering up federal constitutional
    violations.

    The public needs to keep the heat way up on these matters where the
    conflicts of interests equate to corrupt officials at taxpayers
    expense running interference for their 'special interests'.

    We have an election coming up...get rid of the bastards ... and
    lets connect the dots on the others who are not elected officails.

    Everyone knows about RICO the general public should use federal
    resources as well as elections to bust these guys.

    Don just bitch...get involved!!!
    коррупция сосет


    undrcvr wrote on April 18, 2008 11:26 AM: This is corruption at work folks!!!

    '"We are not going to comment on an open investigation. The letter and the law speak for themselves," Art Nadler, a board spokesman, said.'

    'But David Roger, district attorney, recently said his staff had requested a reckoning of building safety in local Harrah's-owned hotels before moving ahead with arraignments of two Harrah's employees charged with misdemeanor violations of building and fire codes'

    This is a stall for the benefit of avoidance. Just watch...nothing will materialize unless the public keeps the pressure on the players.


    dwc wrote on April 18, 2008 11:06 AM: Hate to raise the suggestion of bringing the damned ambulance-chasers in, but the ONLY thing these kind of folks fear is the bottom line. Class action lawsuit?


    Walter Cronkite wrote on April 18, 2008 10:14 AM: The LVRJ has a responsibility to pay off people and publicize this report. It is of utmost importance. Tourist dollars pay for Vegas survival, so they must be informed which Casinos are not up to code. It really matters. Remember the MGM fire.


    Donald wrote on April 18, 2008 08:33 AM: Now I know where the "Good ol'Boys" went. Not only do they screw the employees and creat danger for their guests, They hide the Proof of if all, and the Good ol'boys help them.


    This Stinks wrote on April 18, 2008 08:15 AM: Richard "Dick" Bryan is a share holder in the same law firm as Rory Reid.

    Conflict, Conflict, Conflict.

    Richard Bryan is also an investor in "PURE" which is in Caesars (part of Harrah's)and was recently raided by the IRS.


    Rodman wrote on April 18, 2008 07:47 AM: I hope Harrah's doesn't release these reports. I'm sure if they stay secreative the publicity so generated will hurt them much more than if they came clean, released the reports, and paid the watered down fines from their friends in the DA's office and on the county commission. Just wait until Greta, Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly get ahold of this and run with it. You can bet the heat will be on and maybe we will also be able to get rid of the DA and some of the crooked county commission. As for the contractors board, they are a non offical joke who has no clout in the first palce


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