Mandalay opposes Halloween parade

David Strow

Friday, April 19, 2002 | 10:56 a.m.

One of the Strip's largest casino operators said Thursday it will not support a proposal to hold a Halloween parade down Las Vegas Boulevard.

That could make it difficult for the proposal to move forward, as county officials said Wednesday that the consent of resort operators would be required before a license for the parade would be granted.

John Marz, senior vice president of Mandalay Resort Group, said the company will not give the proposal its support.

"Our company is not supporting it," Marz said. "There are too many issues, so it's best not to do it."

New Century Entertainment Group of Reno has proposed "Boo Ga Loo Las Vegas," a Halloween parade down the Strip the Saturday before Halloween. The company has said it would like to launch the parade this year or next year, though it has yet to submit a proposal to Clark County. New Century wants to hold the parade from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. -- something that's currently not permitted by county ordinances.

The proposal would also require the Strip to be closed to traffic, which normally happens only on New Year's Eve.

Before moving forward on a licensing for the parade, "all of the hotels in the area would have to give their OK," said Ardel Jorgenson, director of county business and licensing.

Marz made it clear Mandalay is not willing to give that approval.

"It's not just the closing of the Strip," Marz said. "It's the whole concept. It would be very difficult, with the kind of crowd it would draw, to monitor what the crowd would be doing.

"With events like these, people sometimes come half-clothed. How do you regulate what costumes they can wear? We do not want our regular guests exposed to those kind of things."

Mandalay's properties run from Tropicana Avenue south to Russell Road. The company also owns and operates Circus Circus, located between Sahara Avenue and Spring Mountain Road, and is the part-owner and operator of Monte Carlo, located between Tropicana and Flamingo roads.

MGM MIRAGE, which controls five casinos between Spring Mountain and Tropicana, appears more open to the idea, though a company spokeswoman wouldn't say if the casino operator would support it.

"We're not participating in it," Jenn Michaels said. "We do wish them the best of luck, and hope visitors enjoy it."

Park Place Entertainment Corp., operator of four Strip casinos, isn't taking a position yet.

"We've been pitched, and we're evaluating the proposal at this time," Park Place spokesman Robert Stewart said.