Thousands of guests and employees were evacuated Thursday from the Paris Las Vegas casino-hotel on Nevada's famous Las Vegas Strip due to a power outage. Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling told the Associated Press the entire complex lost power at around 9:45 a.m. local time when a contractor working in the basement cut into the main power line.
Welling said that 3,000 people who remained in the building were told to leave Thursday afternoon because the battery power was running low on the building's fire alarm system. Jennifer Forkish, of Caesars Entertainment, told Fox 5 the property was working with NV energy to restore power.
"Out of an abundance of caution we are closing our casino, restaurant and hotel operations," Forkish told the television station. Jay Sarno of Santa Fe Springs, California told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he won more than $1,000 on a Keno machine just before the power went out. Sarno told the newspaper the casino gave him a voucher to claim his money after power is restored.
Sarno added that he hoped he could claim his winnings before heading to the airport to catch a 5 p.m. flight. "We're trying to keep people out of the casinos because it's pitch black in there," Rich Broome, the company's executive vice president, told reporters at a noon briefing.
According to Broome, the fire alarm systems weren't working properly due to low battery power, creating safety concerns, CBS affiliate KLAS reports. "We're as unhappy about this situation as they are," said Broome. "We're going to work closely with our customers to make sure they are not harmed financially because of this event." Foxnews.com says that the evacuation impacted employees as well as around 3,000 guests.
According to www.cbsnews.com, most of the guests were being sent to neighboring hotels, including Bally's and Planet Hollywood, officials said. Guests were also encouraged to spend time at Planet Hollywood while they waited to get back into their rooms.
