Two three-ring binders in the office of Monte Carlo President Anton Nikodemus are his most telling reminder of the rooftop fire two months ago that shut down the Strip casino for three weeks and continues to sideline roughly 16 percent of the hotel’s 3,000-room inventory. Every now and then, Nikodemus will glance at the binders, which contain letters from Monte Carlo hotel guests, casino customers, and convention and meeting planners.

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.

MGM Mirage said on Friday its Monte Carlo Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip will reopen its doors for customers on Feb. 15 after being closed two weeks ago after a fire. The company said Monte Carlo plans to open with no fewer than 1,200 guest rooms available and management anticipates an additional 1,300 rooms will become available a week later. The remaining 500 rooms in Monte Carlo’s 3,000-room inventory are located on the upper floors…

Investigators are finalizing the official report on the Monte Carlo fire, but named Union Erectors as having started the fire. On Friday, the company released a statement. Fire investigators say an employee of Union Erectors was cutting a piece of steel on top of the Monte Carlo without the proper permit or equipment. The Clark County Fire Chief says he should have had a matt to catch flying molten steel from his hand torch.

Last Saturday, while inspectors checked the MGM Mirage’s 32-story building for damage following the blaze that blackened the facade of the top floors, Ron Lynn, chief of the Clark County Building Department, said he did not know when he would permit the 3,000-room hotel to reopen. „It’s a little soon to tell,“ Lynn told The Associated Press moments before he and a team of six inspectors entered the building Saturday morning. „We haven’t completed the testing today. But there is no damage to the casino area.“

A fire on the roof of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino forced guests and gamblers to flee and sent flaming embers raining down on the Las Vegas Strip. Firefighters quickly gained control of the blaze and no serious injuries were reported. The morning fire spread across the rooftop facade, made of a foam building material. Flames lapped at the 32-storey hotel’s name.