We know that Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas owner Blackstone Group wanted to change perceptions of the property but I don’t this is what they had in mind. One measly cigarette seems to have been all it took to send the resort’s Bamboo Pool area up in a cloud of dense black smoke, the blaze fueled avidly by the cabanas and artificial palm trees on the deck. Thankfully, only two people were injured, although it could have been worse, judging from the blase attitudes of Cosmo hotel guests who casually filmed the blaze from their hotel windows.
As hotel guest Christopher Thomas said of the half-hour crisis, “It was one of those things where I thought, ‘Drop everything and get the hell out.’” Kudos, by the way, to the Clark County Fire Department for a superb job of damage control in what must be the scariest scenario they’ve faced since the Monte Carlo fire. (Cosmo staff got mixed reviews for their performance during the crisis.) The injury toll could have been much worse, as the pool area was “fully loaded” at the time — as may have been whichever asset decided to flick a lit cigarette into the area.
Showing indecent haste, Blackstone reopened the charred pool area 
less than 24 hours later, even as the 14th floor remained otherwise closed. I know I’d sure like to relax in what looks like the remnants of a forest fire, wouldn’t you? Shame on original owner Deutsche Bank for installing the fire-friendly faux palms, which Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell described as “like solid gasoline to us,” and here’s hoping that Blackstone learns from the near-tragedy and replaces them with something of a much safer caliber.
As for the fire department’s speedy containment of the conflagration, a spokeswoman said, “It was an outside fire and we had good access, so it wasn’t like fighting an inside structure fire. We practice and drill all the time at our hotels and casinos here. We know how to get our hose lines up quickly.” Now that is genuinely reassuring.
* With Macao, faltering Galaxy Entertainment is placing a side bet on Monaco, purchasing a 5% stake in casino operator Societe des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers a Monaco. Although majority owned by Monaco itself, SBM is an attractive investment vehicle at the moment, another 5% having been purchased by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. As a Galaxy sp0kesman put it, “We see it as a potential to develop a strategic long-term partnership with them.”
* Did you know that Jack L. Warner was the founding father of what is now Pinnacle Entertainment? I didn’t. Live and learn.
