Official: Fire won’t halt casino opening

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 | 10:55 a.m.

A fire Tuesday at the construction site of the Palms hotel-casino will not delay the resort's December opening, company officials said this morning.

Jim Hughes, vice president and general manager of the Palms, at Flamingo Road and Valley View Boulevard, said damage to the resort was "minimal" and was confined to a rubber membrane across the casino roof and some facade damage to a stairwell.

"There will be no delay to construction, no one was hurt, and there was no structural damage," Hughes said. "We will be on time."

The blaze, which caused about $75,000 in damage, apparently was sparked by welding, fire officials said.

Some hot residue from welding fell on foam insulation on the roof of an entertainment building adjacent to the hotel tower, Bob Leinbach, a Clark County Fire Department spokesman, said.

The blaze started about 10:10 a.m. and was under control about 10:35 a.m. Tuesday, Leinbach said. The high winds Tuesday morning could have contributed to the fire igniting in the insulation. The fire was called out as a two-alarm blaze, but Leinbach said that is normal response for a fire in a high-rise hotel.

The fire was contained to the roof, but the flames scorched part of the exterior of the hotel tower, Leinbach said.

The buildings had sprinklers installed and operational, but since the fire never went inside the buildings, they didn't go off, he said.

The resort is owned primarily by the Maloof family. Minority investors include Station Casinos Inc. and the Greenspun family, owner of the Sun.