Harrah’s Entertainment may soon reach a conclusion in their legal dealings regarding the safety of their Las Vegas hotel and casino properties. The casino empire has been under heavy scrutiny for the past two years after a former hotel electrician brought his suspicions to a Las Vegas news paper. Since then Harrah’s Entertainment has been going through Clark County courts and independent contractor inspections, in hopes of mending the issue and gaining the proper occupancy permits. This comes after several areas of their properties have gone through renovations and remodeling.
Harrah’s Entertainment breathed a great sigh of relief earlier this month when a Clark County judge dismissed six violation of building code misdemeanor counts. These included, but were not limited to, failing to acquire permits and schedule safety inspections at Harrah’s flagship, strip hotel and casino and their off-strip property, Rio. Clark County District Attorney, David Roger, and Harrah’s Entertainment counsel, Richard Bryan, jointly asked for the dismissal from Judge Eric Goodman after the release of a report issued from Leo A. Daly. Daly, an engineering and design firm, was hired by Harrah’s to perform the extensive inspection and audit of the Harrah’s properties.
The Daly Audit, as it is being called, was commissioned by Harrah’s Entertainment after the court deemed an independent study necessary. The court selected the firm, and held the contract. They sampled remodeling work at eight of Harrah’s Properties. They were looking for compliance with building and safety codes. They seemed to be fairly satisfied. They rejected the theory of “apparent, or underlying, large scale conspiracy effort to neglect” the governing process of design, safe construction and proper maintenance. The audit, however, does site some unsatisfactory construction work and failed follow through after Harrah’s was made aware of some infractions.
Hopefully, this turbulent time for the Harrah’s hotel and casino properties is coming to a close. Repairs are being made while the properties are being operated under temporary permits. Pending a final examination and issue of more permanent permit, Harrah’s should be out of the courts and back into normal business.
