Tuesday, June 16, 1998 | 10:46 a.m.
Hundreds of guests were evacuated from the Gold Strike hotel-casino early today as a fire -- fueled by slot machine plastics, carpet and tabletop fabric -- destroyed the gaming area and caused an estimated $20-$30 million in damage.
Groggy tourists stood in the parking lot minutes after the fire started about 1:30 a.m., watching as flames lapped at the 17-story hotel tower. Some only had time to grab medication, others packed their bags, and still more were rushed from the casino, forced to leave winnings behind in slot machines. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters, hindered by low water pressure, took more than four hours to control the blaze that gutted the entire casino and charred the old-West facade that earned the hotel its reputation as "A Town of its Own."
By daybreak, the 40-year-old casino on the edge of Boulder City was a smouldering frame.
"It's miraculous no one was injured, especially not any firefighters," Steve La-Sky, Clark County Fire Department spokesman, said. "The heat and intensity of the fuel load is incredible. The water pressure hindered us. If we had more water, quicker, we possibly could have controlled the fire earlier. But it wouldn't have saved (the casino)."
More than 100 firefighters worked the three-alarm, 1,300-degree inferno, including all of Boulder City's department and support from Clark County, Henderson, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Judging by the fire's movements, La-Sky said the fire is believed to have started above the sprinkler system near the roof and attic areas of the single-story casino.
Guests reported smelling tar and seeing roofing crews at work atop the casino Monday evening. Gold Strike officials declined to comment.
The plan of attack was "surround and drown," with firefighters encircling the property and preventing the casino's flames from spreading to adjoining hotel rooms, which sustained smoke and water damage.
Crews rapidly depleted 1 million gallons of water that had been stored in tanks on the property, and used more than 500,000 gallons pumped in by a six-inch line from Boulder City a few hours into the fire, La-Sky said.
The casino was deemed a total loss at 3:30 a.m.
Teams were putting out hot spots throughout the property as late as 8:30 a.m., a safety hazard slowing investigators in their preliminary search to find the cause.
How long the fire had been burning before firefighters were called at 1:30 a.m. is still not clear.
Gerry Crokie, gambling in the casino with her two sisters visiting from Portland, Ore., said it was about 20 minutes after she saw hints of smoke coming out of the air conditioning vents that employees evacuated the property.
"Someone said a car was on fire outside, so I went out and that's when I saw the roof on fire," Crokie, once a maid for seven years in the hotel, said. The flames, she said, were shooting out the roof above the faux store front called "Y Lady Mine Shaft" on the casino's northeastern end.
"I ran in saying the building's on fire and tried to get people out, and they just looked at me," Crokie said. About 20 minutes later, security was evacuating.
Luis Rosales, an employee at the Treasure Island hotel-casino, said he thought he smelled smoke about 9 p.m., but figured it was simply wet carpeting.
Four hours later, the fire alarm sounded and within seconds, Rosales heard an explosion. He walked out of his third floor room as a hotel employee was walking down the hallway evacuating guests.
"We smelled smoke and heard something blow up and they were barely starting to get people out," Rosales said. "They were only on the third floor."
Helen and Roger Bottolfson, who were visiting the casino near the Lake Mead shore, said someone pounded on their door shortly before 2 a.m. and yelled, "Hotel's on fire!"
Uncertain whether the scream was a dream or reality, the couple peered into the hallway, but the person had vanished.
"I've stayed in a lot of hotels across the country and there are always instructions on what to do in case of a fire," Roger Bottolfson of San Jose, Calif. "There were no instructions in these rooms."
Tony Korfman, longtime general manager of the Gold Strike, stared through emergency vehicles at the flames. Korfman, who retired four months ago after 20 years at the casino, said a friend called him about 3 a.m. and asked what happened to the casino.
Korfman didn't know the answer and hopped in his car to find out for himself.
"It's overwhelming," he said. "It's like a nightmare."
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