Pictures... Pictures... Pictures... Is there a suggestion of fraud here? Sure wish I lived in Las Vegas... This is one investigative report I'd love to be able to see in its' entirety...
msnbc.com
[PHOTO CAPTION] For eight-years the El Rancho has been shrouded in mystery, but an exclusive News 3 investigation could help remove that cloak of darkness.
The last Las Vegas mystery
Darcy Spears
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 1– To most Las Vegans, the old El Rancho is the eyesore of the strip. Since its doors closed in 1991, the western-themed hotel-casino sits idle, despite the biggest construction boom the city has ever seen.
MANY PEOPLE WONDER why it's empty, who owns it and where's the “Countryland USA” gambling mecca the marquee's been promising for years?
In an exclusive investigation, Darcy Spears has spent four-months digging deeper into those questions.
For eight-years the El Rancho has been shrouded in mystery, but an exclusive News 3 investigation could help remove that cloak of darkness.
For the very first time, News 3 reveals the real story behind the ghostly exterior since the doors closed at El Rancho, the last Las Vegas mystery.
The booming Las Vegas strip has glitz, glamour and of course gambling. But in the midst of it all is a ghost town and many skeletons in the El Rancho's closet.
“It is a shuttered, kind of mysterious operation at a time in which the rest of the strip appears to be prospering and growing and expanding,” says newspaper columnist John L. Smith. “Everyone who passes by, the first thing they think of is, what's that all about?”
NEWS 3'S EXCLUSIVE TOUR
We all know what El Rancho looks like on the outside. But inside, you'll discover cobwebs in every corner, fungus eating up the walls, wallpaper peeling off all over the place and mold eating away the carpet.
“You've got to remember you're the first people seeing this,” says a worker who requested to remain anonymous. “In how long?” asks Darcy Spears. “In eight years that I know of.”
No one's been legally inside the El Rancho since its doors closed in 1991.
We're giving you the first look as we tour the property with workers who've asked us to conceal their identities.
The workers patrol the El Rancho, encountering danger and health hazards around every corner. They invited us inside because of concerns for their health and safety, as well as potential danger to the surrounding area.
“This is where I almost got killed. This here's the keno room and if you look up, you'll see the ceiling tiles are falling down,” says a worker.
The tiles are crashing onto the floor with employees in the line of fire.
“Be careful of this register, that's about 75 pounds and one of them came down and missed me by about two inches.”
Ceilings are caving in, exposing piping with asbestos.
Floors are coming apart. That's not all. There are loose wires.
“They're live. Don't touch them! Don't touch them, please. They will fry you,” says a worker.
The hazards grow even greater as the workers lead the News 3 Investigators deeper into the forsaken building.
The kitchen area is filled with rats and roaches.
Things attracted to ovens and other surfaces are dripping with decay.
“Pick up your shirt and put it over your face if you don't want to breathe the chemicals,” warns a guide.
The fumes were so noxious, they overwhelmed both News 3 photographers.
“Which way is back up to the casino? I just can't handle it anymore,” said News 3 photographer Justin Rush.
After discovering so much danger behind the doors of El Rancho, News 3 showed its video to county officials and it didn't take long before someone came knocking.
WHY DIDN'T ANYONE KNOW?
If you let your house and yard deteriorate into a big cluttered mess, the county would make you clean it up. So why has the old eyesore been sitting on the strip for so long in such crummy shape?
There's stagnant water, deadly spiders and strangers who attack workers.
“A man hit him from over here with a bat... kept pummeling him, knocked his teeth out, split his head wide open,” says a worker.
Could county leaders know what's going on inside the El Rancho? We got a group together including representatives from the county commission, fire department, building and safety, public response and the health district.
It's their job to oversee conditions like the ones we just showed you. We show them our video and ask if they see anything wrong.
“Clearly, things were going on there that nobody was aware of,” said Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams.
“What I saw in some of those rooms, that wouldn't pass,” said Lonnie Empey of the Clark County Environmental Health Department.
“I assure you that we're gonna take action,” said one official.
Some agencies say they keep an eye on El Rancho, but not to the extent we have. The fire department sent an inspector when we first told them we'd been inside. What did he find?
“Could I please ask you to turn the camera off because I cannot answer that question,” said Clark County Fire Inspector Royce Leonard.
[SIDEBAR QUOTE] ‘We will check out all of these concerns.' —Kathy Zegorske Fire Department
Perhaps he couldn't answer the question because he told his chief nothing was wrong except for a few burned out bulbs in exit signs.
After seeing our video, the fire department agreed they should take a closer look.
“We will check out all of these concerns and get into those areas that he wasn't into and make sure that if there are any hazards that they'll be required to have them cleaned up,” said Kathy Zegorske of the fire department.
Brian Woodward of Schirmer Engineering also saw the video. He's an independent fire safety expert who has his own concerns.
“Common sense dictates it should not be like that,” he said.
OFFICIALS TAKE ACTION
The morning after watching our tape, county cars clogged the El Rancho entrance. Even OSHA sent two inspectors, after refusing to join the group watching our tape.
“OSHA should've been involved a long time ago,” said Lonnie Empey.
The county officials indeed found electrical and chemical hazards, blocked exits and building flaws.
Now they may take steps to shut down the El Rancho. Yes, shut down. Believe it or not, El Rancho is operational. New slot machines and refurbished rooms are inside the dark hotel-casino. So what's going on?
“My gut feeling is, looking at this, somebody's making some money and it's not the Clark County Health District or Clark County,” said a county official.
Some of the county's inspection reports now show nearly four dozen fire and safety violations they found inside El Rancho. They warn the owners in writing that any repair or construction activity will be under scrutiny from now on.
Who is making money off El Rancho and how are they doing it? Find out why “Countryland USA” never got past it's name on the marquee and how questionable financing may be helping to keep the place closed coming up on News 3 Nightside at 11.
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