The Paris Las Vegas casino on the Vegas Strip was evaluated due to a power outage, which began at 9:45 am on Thursday. Some guests left immediately, but backup power was used to keep the casino operational until the early afternoon. Then, over 3,000 guests and the full casino staff were evacuated from the building.
Rich Broome, who is the Executive VP of Paris Las Vegas, said that full restoration of power was expected on Thursday. By late afternoon on Thursday, the power outage continued.
Mr. Broome said, "We're trying to keep people out of the casinos because it's pitch black in there."
Customers Trapped in Dark Elevators
That was not the only safety concern. Because of low battery power, the fire alarm systems were not working properly on Thursday. 11 people had to be rescued by fire crews. The eleven people who needed to be rescued each were trapped in one of the casino's five elevators, because the elevators had stopped working and the 11 casino goers were trapped in darkness.
Stay at Other Caesars Entertainment Casinos
Paris Las Vegas is still unsure where guests might stay, if they cannot stay at the casino on Thursday night. The casino is owned by Caesars Entertainment Resorts, which owns 10 properties in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
At the moment, customers are being told to go to Bally's front desk if they want to be reassigned to a new property. Bally's Las Vegas is a Caesars Entertainment casino. So is Planet Hollywood, which Caesars is suggesting as a rest site or gambling site for guests as they wait to get back in their rooms.
Caesars's Regrets for Inconvenience
Rich Broome told those guests in his press release that Caesars regrets the current situation. Broome said, "We're as unhappy about this situation as they are. We're going to work closely with our customers to make sure they are not harmed financially because of this event."
When a 24-hour casino has an emergency, gambling is going to be happening at the moment that the emergency happens. That means chips are going to be left on the blackjack, craps, baccarat, and roulette tables. Slot machine and video poker machine sessions are going to end abruptly, sometimes without a chance to cash out the EGM ticket.
The Story of Jay Sarno
That happened on Thursday at the Paris Las Vegas. A certain percentage of the guests had to deal with the potential of lost winnings. Jay Sarno of Santa Fe Springs told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he had won about $1,000 around the time the power outage became severe. He won the prize on a keno machine.
Mr. Sarno told the newspaper that he was given a voucher. Once power is restored, he'll be able to use the voucher to reclaim his lost winnings.
Walked 18 Flights of Stairs
Jay Sarno described more than his lost winnings. He also mentioned that he was a part of a traveling group of gamblers who traipsed 18 floors up the casino's stairways in order to collect baggage and belongings. Once they collected their travel bags, they were escorted from the premises, presumably to Bally's or Planet Hollywood.
Partially Restored at 10:30 PM Thursday Night
Energy was partially restored at around 10:30 pm on Thursday night. Players started trickling back into the casino at around 1:00 am on Friday morning. The Clarke County Fire Department started testing the emergency equipment once power was restored. Once the fire officials were satisfied with their test, players were allowed back in the property.
Paris Las Vegas released a statement about customers returning to their hotel rooms.
The statement read, "Once that test has been successfully completed, guests who have already checked into the hotel will be allowed to reenter the property. Additionally, guests can use their existing room keys to access their rooms, new keys should not be necessary. Guests who were not able to check in today are asked to remain at their reassigned locations until tomorrow morning."
