Horseshoe to complete ADA modifications by July

Grace Leong

Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2001 | 10:35 a.m.

Binion's Horseshoe Club, which was ordered by a federal judge in 1998 to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, has agreed to complete modifications to the downtown Las Vegas hotel-casino by next July, said Las Vegas advocacy group Nevadans for Equal Access.

Alfreda Ferrell and Ernest Fuller, two individuals with disabilities, sued Binion's Horseshoe in U.S. District Court on Aug. 8, 1997, alleging it failed to offer adequate parking for people with disabilities, telephone service for people with hearing impairments and wheelchair accessible rooms. They also said fire alarms weren't equipped with warning lights to alert people with hearing impairments.

The case was settled in 1998 after both parties agreed, under a consent decree reached Nov. 2, 1998, that certain penalties would accrue if they didn't meet specific deadlines to complete modifications by 2000, said Daniel Ebihara, the plaintiffs' attorney.

But deadlines weren't met on several modifications, he said. Both parties then agreed in late August to extend the deadline to July 2002.

"The major modification that has not yet been made is the visual fire alarm on the casino floor," he said. "In order to resolve all compliance and penalties issues that could have been incurred, we came up with (a modified consent decree) at the end of August."

"Hopefully, Horseshoe's compliance with this modified consent decree will end the litigation and resolve all compliance issues that remain outstanding from the first consent decree," Ebihara said.

U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben approved the modified consent decree on Sept. 6.

Michael Hetey, Horseshoe's attorney, said: "Binion's is looking forward to the completion of the modified consent decree and making the property accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities."

Under the Sept. 6 decree, Horseshoe said it agreed to renovate its fire alarm system with visual strobe lights for the hearing-impaired, remodel hotel rooms and add lower tables at snack bars for individuals using wheelchairs and ramps in the gift shops by July 2002.

"Horseshoe is close to completing the hotel room modifications. It has completed renovations to two restrooms on the casino floor. But there's a third restroom on the second floor that still isn't done. The bathrooms have to have a roll-in shower stalls for wheelchair users, handles on sink faucets and handrails for toilets," Ebihara said.

Ebihara said Horseshoe also agreed to made a substantial contribution to Nevadans for Equal Access, but he declined to disclose further details about the sum. "When we filed these lawsuits, we're not seeking monetary damages, but asking that the (hotel) properties comply with the ADA. It's feasible for them to do so because it opens up a new (consumer) market for them from wheelchair users," said Paul Martin, president of Nevadans for Equal Access.

This isn't the first lawsuit filed by the advocacy group against hotel-casino properties.

Martin said Nevadans for Equal Access successfully sued Showboat in 1998, forcing the hotel-casino to make its bowling alleys wheelchair-accessible. He said the group also sent letters to other casinos including Bellagio and Bally's, warning that if specified changes weren't made they would be sued.

"Bellagio, which put in new overhead walkways, had doors that weren't wheelchair accessible. But now they are," he said. "Bally's raised the asphalt at the parking lot entrance to the casino to make it level with the concrete sidewalk."