Friday night’s fire at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas was the city’s second casino fire within 24 hours.
Spokesman for the Nugget, Tim Szymanski, said that shortly after 8:40pm on Friday, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue responded to the Bridger and 1st Street side of the hotel, where a small fire had started on the awning of the casino’s employee entrance/delivery area of the building, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In the less than 10 minutes it took for the fire department to reach the scene, the fire had reportedly already been extinguished, according to Szymanski. While some smoke from the small fire did manage to reach the hallway of the employee entrance, there were no reported injuries.
On Saturday afternoon, the cause of the fire was unavailable as was a damage estimate. The spokesman said hotel operations were unaffected, according to the news agency.
The fire at the Golden Nugget on Friday marked the second casino fire at a Las Vegas casino in a 24-hour span, as a late night fire on the rooftop of a shopping area at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino on Thursday at about 10:46pm shut down traffic near the casino on the Las Vegas Strip and reportedly caused an estimated $450,000 in damage, according to the Clark County Fire Department.
By 11:09 on Thursday, a total of 77 fire personnel firefighters and 10 engines reportedly had the fire extinguished. According to local news agencies, there were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of that fire is also being investigated.
Located on the Fremont Street Experience, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas is owned and operated by Houston, Texas-based Landry’s, Inc., which completed the acquisition from then owner, Poster Financial Group, on September 27, 2005. It was built in 1946, making it one of the city’s oldest casinos, and with a total of 2,419 deluxe guest rooms and suites, it is also the largest casino in the downtown area.
Landry’s also owns and operates the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, Biloxi, Mississippi; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Laughlin, Nevada. Founded by Tilman J Fertitta in 1980, Landry’s Landry’s owns and operates more than 500 properties, including more than 40 unique brands.