Building inspectors dispute Adelson claim

Gary Thompson

Tuesday, May 18, 1999 | 12:23 p.m.

Clark County building inspectors cleared another six floors of the Venetian for occupancy and will conduct more life-safety tests on the $1.5 billion resort later this week.

"We've released floors 28 through 33, though they're still working on the penthouse suites," said Ron Lynn, assistant director of the Clark County Building Inspectors Department.

No testing has been done on the resort's retail shops, which have not opened.

Lynn also disputed a claim made by Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson, who blamed the delays in releasing most of the resort's rooms for occupancy on county safety officials.

"The fire and building departments had difficulties understanding the high-tech (alarm and smoke-detection systems) and other complexities of this property," Adelson told the Reuters news service in an interview last week.

The Reuters report also claimed building inspectors unfamiliar with the resort's smoke-detection systems refused to grant occupancy certificates "at the last minute."

"It wasn't through any misunderstanding or lack of understanding on our part," said Lynn.

"The more complex the system, the more chances there are to discover irregularities. But the system still has to perform to the requirements approved for that system, and that wasn't the case with the Venetian.

"They provided us with a life-safety package to inspect. If it performs, great. If it doesn't, corrections have to be made," Lynn said.

"We initiated power outages to see how the system performed, and when the computers rebooted, they activated fans, turning on equipment that shouldn't have been on and turning off equipment that should have stayed on," he said.

Some delegates attending conventions at the Venetian last week complained of a "wind-tunnel effect" in hallways in the hotel tower, which might have been caused by the fans erroneously activated by the rebooted computers.

Venetian executives could not be reached for comment.

Adelson also told Reuters he's planning a "grand opening" for the June 11-13 weekend featuring a performance by Cher. Aimed at high-rollers, the event will also feature special events at some of the resort's restaurants, poolside fireworks and a fashion show.