Fire Breaks Out at the Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada -- Upon making my way down Interstate 15 for a court appearance, a dense cloud of smoke caught my eye. The Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino appeared to be on fire. Within minutes the news on the radio 88.9 KNPR confirmed the inferno.

The unknown cause of the fire started at roughly 11am Friday morning on the 25^th of January. The damage of the fire was mostly to the exterior portion of the top floors of the $344 million dollar resort. Channel 13 News Las Vegas reports there were no major injuries however 13 people were treated for minor smoke inhalation. The fire lasted for approximately an hour before it was completely controlled.

I could see the blaze all the way from the intersection of Carry and Martin Luther King Blvd, approximately 10 miles away from the source. While Las Vegas is no stranger to fires, especially on the Strip, the city tends to put a large hype on the subject. In the Las Vegas Traffic Court, the only subject you could hear throughout the place was the news on the fire. On my trip home I decided to take Las Vegas Blvd (The Strip) home for a first hand view of the fire. Unfortunately the street was closed for the majority of the afternoon and emergency workers were advising the public to stay clear of ground zero at all cost.

Later in the day the Monte Carlo released a statement to county officials and stating there had been welders working on the roof, says Las Vegas KNBC News. Floors 17 and above were completely evacuated, leaving no one trapped. The Las Vegas Strip has been open again for public traffic; however has a strong bottle neck in front of the Monte Carlo.

The Monte Carlo has been a Las Vegas hot spot sense it was build in 1994. It includes over 3,000 rooms and more than 200 pent houses. Owned by the MGM Grand, the Monte Carlo is home to over 3,000 employees who, thanks to the fire, got a little shock this morning. As the damage to the building is mostly on the exterior portion of the resort, with minor damage to some of the high end rooms, the hotel will continue to be one of the large players on the Las Vegas strip after a little revamping.