License officials probe melee at Mandalay Bay

Stephen Curran

Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 8:34 a.m.

The Clark County Department of Business Licensing has launched an inquiry into Thursday morning's melee at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, an agency official said.

An estimated 250 people were involved in the alcohol-fueled fight, which occurred in the OBA After-Hours Lounge inside the House of Blues about 3:45 a.m., according to Metro Police.

But police said little more about the incident Thursday morning other than that officers responded only as people were leaving. The department referred questions about what it described as a near-riot to Mandalay Bay executives.

Carla Alston, a police spokeswoman, said Thursday morning that the department had not launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

A subsequent investigation by the department's Special Investigations section was under way Thursday afternoon, Sgt. Anthony Arnone, who heads the unit, said.

The support unit routinely conducts investigations into similar incidents that occur in establishments governed by county-regulated licenses, he said. Once at the House of Blues, a detective from the unit examined the facility's security staffing and confirmed its restaurant and liquor licenses were up to date.

"We look at whether they have the proper licenses and who was there," Arnone said. "They have cooperated with us 100 percent."

According to the county's online database, the House of Blues is operating under a valid liquor license issued in 1999. It will expire at the end of this month.

When the investigation is complete, police will forward their findings to the county business licensing department, Arnone said.

Derek Dubasik, the county's assistant manager for business license operations, said such incidents at Strip hotels are rare because they usually employ small armies of security personnel because any kind of trouble can result in bad publicity or lawsuits.

Dubasik would not speculate on the House of Blues brawl specifically, but said establishments that serve alcohol can lose their liquor licenses if the department finds they knowingly disregarded safety regulations governing health, building and fire codes.

The vaguely worded rules make it difficult to apply to Thursday morning's incident, he said.

"It's not clear-cut that if you do this, this and this, you'll lose your license," Dubasik said. "There are many things that can lead up."

Tanya Tumminia, a spokeswoman for the House of Blues, said the fight broke out in a public part of the lounge, considered a VIP section of the popular restaurant, nightclub and concert venue.

Sgt. Clint Nichols, speaking later that afternoon, said two people suffered minor head injuries and were treated at a nearby hospital Thursday morning. The injured people -- Nichols said he did not know if they were men or women -- had refused to press charges Thursday afternoon, he said.

Tumminia said early accounts calling the event an after party for the Billboard Music Awards, the show was held Wednesday night at the MGM Grand, were incorrect.

"It had nothing to do with the Billboard Music Awards," she said.

Nichols called the incident, during which he and other officers said lamps and glass bottles were thrown, a "melee."

The department has not pinned down what started the fight, which is believed to have involved alcohol, he said.

Officers from three Metro commands had responded to the fight, which Nichols said "could have been a lot worse."

"It was just one of those incidents we were trying to get control over," he said. "For 250 people involved and only two minor injuries, it could have been a lot worse."

Five security guards were working the party early Thursday morning, Nichols said. Metro routinely sends officers from its Special Events Section to area concert venues including the House of Blues, although none were working there Thursday, he said.

Private events are typically patrolled by guards hired by the individual venues, which are not required to maintain specific staffing levels, Nichols said.

"When the House of Blues has bands or special events, we have special events officers working the events ... " he said. "A lot of it depends on the clientele you expect to bring into your place. We don't get involved in how many (private security) officers there should be."

A statement Thursday afternoon from the House of Blues said the company "fully cooperate(s) with local law enforcement departments and authorities and continuously update(s) safety and security plants ..."

District Attorney David Roger said he did not know of any criminal laws that would apply in the House of Blues incident. If a case does arise, it will likely surface in civil court, he said.

Metro's Nichols said this week's free-for-all "could have happened anywhere. It just happened at the House of Blues. When you have after-hours parties, who knows what could happen?"