Monte Carlo hotel casino fire loss estimated at USD 100 million

Casino operator MGM Mirage estimates the repair costs and lost business due to the fire at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino will be close to USD 100 million. Company spokesman Alan Feldman says the company has insurance, but it’s not immediately clear how much of the claim will be paid for.

The burned exterior facade along the roof of the building has been removed, and officials plan to reopen the casino and at least 1,200 of the hotel’s 3,000-plus rooms about sometime Friday.

That’ll be the first time it has been open since the spectacular three-alarm fire forced thousands of people to flee January 25.

Seventeen people were taken to hospitals during the fire with what ambulance officials described as minor injuries. Fire investigators have blamed workers using a cutting torch on the roof for sparking the blaze.