The MGM Grand Fire (1980)

About

Early on the morning of Friday, November 21, 1980, an electrical wire began sparking behind a wall of The Deli, a restaurant at the east end of the MGM Grand's casino. The 26-story resort, opened by Kirk Kerkorian in 1973, was one of the largest on the Strip. Flames broke into a waitress station after 7 a.m., and security called the fire department at 7:16. Firefighters from Station 11, just across Flamingo Road, arrived two minutes later and saw a fireball roll out of The Deli and across the casino.

The casino was evacuated over the public address system, but in the confusion no alarm reached guests in the hotel tower above. Smoke and toxic fumes travelled up elevator shafts, stairwells and shared air vents into the rooms, and most victims died of smoke inhalation, many in the tower. Helicopters lifted people from the roof, and 550 firefighters responded. The Clark County Fire Department counts 85 deaths, 84 on the day and one weeks later; some accounts give 87. About 700 people were injured.

The investigation found that the hotel had sprinklers only in limited areas; there were none in The Deli, because it was expected to be staffed around the clock. There were no smoke detectors in guest rooms, and flammable ceiling tiles and plastics fed the fire. Less than three months later, on February 10, 1981, an arson fire at the Las Vegas Hilton killed eight more people.

The two fires changed building safety. Nevada passed a retrofit law requiring sprinklers in older hotels and in buildings taller than 55 feet, along with pressurised stairwells, smoke control, fire control rooms, voice alarm systems and smoke detectors in every room. The Las Vegas Sun reported that about 30,000 building owners across the state upgraded their systems. Litigation from more than 1,350 claims led to a $223 million settlement. The rebuilt hotel became Bally's and now operates as Horseshoe Las Vegas.

What to expect

The building that burned still stands on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road. It became Bally's after the original MGM Grand, and Caesars Entertainment renamed it Horseshoe Las Vegas, holding its grand opening celebration on March 24, 2023. There is no museum about the fire on site.

More from the 1980s

• The Mirage Opens (1989)

Before and after

• The International Hotel Opens (1969)

Good to know

• Death tolls differ. The Clark County Fire Department and Las Vegas Sun reporting give 85; a 2000 Sun article and a 2020 Review-Journal article give 87. The coroner's office said 84 died on the day and one more weeks later in Houston.
• No firefighter died fighting the MGM Grand or Hilton fires, according to the Clark County Fire Department.
• The Las Vegas Sun reported that spending about $192,000 more on sprinklers in more areas of the hotel could have prevented the tragedy.
• A 2012 Las Vegas Sun article reported no fire-related death at any Strip resort in the decades after the new codes, citing the Clark County Building Department.
• The MGM Grand that stands today at Tropicana Avenue is a different building, opened by Kerkorian in 1993.

Questions about The MGM Grand Fire (1980)