Nevada officials have created a task force to close a sizable gap in the state’s oversight of the gaming industry’s emergency response plans.
The panel was formed in response to an investigation launched by the Las Vegas Review-Journal in the aftermath of the October 1 mass shooting on the Strip in which a gunman holed up on a top floor Mandalay Bay opened fire on an outdoor concert crowd, killing 58 and wounding more than 500.
The R-J report showed the state’s Division of Emergency Management has neglected for years to review the emergency plans for most Nevada casinos, including Mandalay Bay and has been lax in holding resorts to compliance with a 2003 state law that requires them to file such plans.
The report found also that most casinos on the Strip had not updated their emergency plans with the state since 2012, and more than two dozen large Las Vegas casinos had not revised plans since 2008.
Caleb Cage, who heads the division, has since sent letters to 88 resorts in the state urging them to file or update emergency plans.
“We recognize that there was a deficiency here, and we have an aggressive plan to make sure we have the most up-to-date and best quality plans possible,” he said.
The eight-member task force, which is slated to hold its first meeting this week, includes Clark County Emergency Manager John Steinbeck and his Washoe County counterpart, Aaron Kenneston, an official with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and security executives from Caesars Entertainment, New York-New York and the Mirage in Las Vegas and the Peppermill Casino in Reno.
The task force, which will meet for at least three months, will look to come up with a model emergency response plan for all casinos to consider, Cage said. The panel also will look for ways to improve communications between emergency managers and casino security officers who deal with the plans.
