County blocks hotel work
Clark County inspectors have caught Harrah's Las Vegas employees doing construction work, again, without a building permit.
On Tuesday, the county ordered a halt to demolition in a second-floor hallway until the Clark County Building Division actually issues permits for the work.
The hotel described the work in a permit application that still is being processed, county spokeswoman Stacey Welling confirmed Wednesday.
"We will report it to the state contractors board," Welling also said.
The hotel's parent company, Harrah's Entertainment, still faces arraignment on a long-pending misdemeanor charge of violating building codes by doing extensive remodeling without permits several years ago at Harrah's on the Strip and at the Rio hotel.
The Tuesday incident entailed limited demolition work in a second-floor hallway used by employees, according to a violation notice filed by inspector Michael Hymes.
Welling said the demolition seemed to be a preparation step so workers could correct electrical problems in that hall, which is near an employee dining room.
Harrah's spokeswoman Marybel Batjer, contacted late Wednesday, said she was unaware of the Tuesday incident but would investigate.
The need for electrical repairs was documented earlier this year by county inspectors, who had issued other violation notices in March and late January. The earlier notices describe such deficiencies as exposed wiring and dangling cables.
The long-postponed misdemeanor arraignment of Harrah's is now set for Aug. 4, more than a year after the district attorney's office filed the charge.
About a month ago, Welling said the court proceeding would be delayed until Leo A Daly, an independent planning and engineering firm, completes a code-compliance audit of 60 randomly selected remodeling projects that took place at local Harrah's-owned hotels.
The hotel-casino giant noted in a year-end report that in 2008 it spent an estimated $60.5 million remediating faulty work connected with certain covert remodeling projects at the Rio and Harrah's Las Vegas hotels.
Harrah's filed the report with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact reporter Joan Whitely at jwhitely@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0268.
