Firefighters contain blaze at site of shuttered Key Largo Casino

By William D'Urso

Published Thursday, March 28, 2013 | 3:51 p.m.

Updated Thursday, March 28, 2013 | 9:15 p.m.

Firefighters worked into Thursday evening to finally contain a massive afternoon fire at the shuttered Key Largo Casino that caused about $4.5 million in damage.

Around 3:05 p.m., units from the Clark County Fire Department swarmed the Key Largo, 377 Flamingo Road, said Stacey Welling, a Clark County spokeswoman. Heavy smoke and flames had breached the roof and were licking toward the sky when firefighters arrived.

Commuters in the area were hit with major delays. Officer Jose Hernandez, a Metro Police spokesman, said the intersection of Flamingo and Paradise roads had to be closed for several hours. Commuters traveling east and west on Flamingo, and south on Paradise were held up while congestion halted traffic for travelers moving southbound on Koval Lane.

Smoke could be seen billowing from the fire for miles around the valley, and Las Vegas Fire & Rescue were called in to help control the flames. In all, 117 firefighters were called to the scene, and two were transported to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Officials said no civilians were injured.

The Key Largo closed in 2005 to make room for what was supposed to be condominium tower, but those plans never took root. The edifice was built in 1974 and has been abandoned since approximately 2007, Welling said.

Clark County records show the property is owned by CABI Flamingo LLC, which according to media reports is owned by members of the Cababie family, a real estate dynasty behind the Grupo Gicsa development company in Mexico.