Steve Wynn said a “Do Not Disturb” sign on a door for more than 12 hours is investigated at Wynn Resorts casinos.
Las Vegas casino executive Steve Wynn claimed Stephen Paddock’s activities would have drawn attention at one of Wynn Resort’s properties. Wynn seemed to suggest that Paddock’s mass shooting would not have happened at a Wynn casino.
Stephen Paddock rented a suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort on the Las Vegas Strip for several days before the fateful night he murdered 58 people and injured over 500 others. Paddock used the Mandalay Bay hotel room as a perch to target a crowd of 22,000 people.
After the shooting, Wynn Resorts announced it would increase security procedures at its Las Vegas area resorts, including random scans by security staff. MGM Resorts announced its staff would ask for hotel keys before allowing people on the visitors elevators, but would not introduce scans with security wands.
Do Not Disturb Signs
In a FoxNews interview, Steve Wynn pointed to the news that Stephen Paddock had a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his suite door for 2 to 3 days. Wynn, who has been in the Las Vegas casino industry since 1968, said that would have been a red flag. Steve Wynn said during his TV interview that any use of a “Do Not Disturb” sign for more than 12 hours is investigated by Wynn Resorts staff.
Wynn did not criticize Mandalay Bay or MGM Resorts directly, though the suggestion Wynn Resorts would have stopped the shooting earlier is taken by some as criticism. Since the FoxNews interview, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said that Stephen Paddock shot a Mandalay Bay security guard 6 minutes before he began shooting into the crowd at the country music festival.
Sheriff Lombardo said that the shooting occurred when the security guard, who survived with a gunshot wound to his leg, investigated something on the 32nd Floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
Steve Wynn’s Quote on Mass Shooting
During his “Fox News Sunday” appearance, the founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts said, “The scenario that we’re aware of would have indicated that [Paddock] didn’t let anyone in the room for two or three days. That would have triggered a whole bunch of alarms here.”
Wynn also noted that Stephen Paddock and Marilou Danley were known to the staff of Wynn Resorts casinos. He said the two visited Wynn Resorts hotels “once or twice a month” and were VIP high roller customers, known to spend enough money that they received comps such as free rooms, meals, and shows.
Wynn Resorts Profile
Wynn Resorts has a longstanding profile for building resorts for high end clients. While other casino companies believe that intrusive searches are not how gamblers want to start their holidays in Las Vegas, Steve Wynn’s company believes customers at his resorts will put up with routine security scans, if they can spend their holiday secure in the knowledge they are safe.
The differing policies are a sign that the Big Four casino companies on the Las Vegas Strip — Las Vegas Sands Corp, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Wynn Resorts — take a different approach to customer relations. For instance, MGM Resorts introduced parking fees at select Las Vegas area resorts in the past couple of years, while Wynn Resorts continues a longtime tradition in which parking is free at Las Vegas Strip resorts.
The fact that Wynn Resorts changed its security procedures to include scans with magnetic devices indicates some recognition that its previous levels of security might have been insufficient, had Stephen Paddock chosen to launch his attack from a Wynn Resorts casino. It might be that the heightened presence at the Wynn casinos might be for public relations purposes, to calm the nerves of visitors and show action.
Emerging Picture of Stephen Paddock’s Shooting
Despite the various approaches to security, there is a lot to be discovered about Stephen Paddock’s shooting. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police say they plan to be in the 32nd Floor of the Mandalay Bay for at least one other week, so a final report on the initial information gathering phase of the investigation may not happen for a week or more.
Media outlets continue to dig into ancillary parts of the story, such as biographical details about Marilou Danley and Bruce Paddock. These stories do not touch on the primary figure in the shooting — Stephen Paddock — or exactly how he came to have several dozen weapons in his hotel room. Heightened security measures might have prevented Paddock’s stocking his unit with so much firepower, but police have given no opinion on the matter to this point.
Paddock’s notes (sometimes called a letter to police) have not been released to the public, though early indications are the notes contain information on how he planned his attack. If so, then police might release information at a later date that gives the shooter’s own opinions on the weaknesses in Mandalay Bay’s or the Las Vegas Strip’s security measures.
