Hauntings of The MGM Grand Fire of 1980

Posted: 07.29.2024 | Updated: 07.29.2024

The MGM Grand Hotel was one of the earliest luxury mega-hotels on the Strip, costing $106 million. When it opened in 1973, it was the largest hotel in the world. Though the modern-day MGM Grand Hotel and Casino comes to mind when hearing "MGM Grand," the MGM Grand Hotel was originally located on the site of what is now Bally’s Hotel and Casino.It was here in the heart of the bustling Las Vegas strip that dire tragedy once struck. 

Why is Horseshoe Las Vegas haunted?

 The MGM Grand fire of November 21, 1980, was the second largest loss-of-life hotel fire in the history of the United States and the deadliest event in Nevada state history. Because of the raging fire and severe smoke from the blaze, 87 people died, and over 700 were injured in the 26-story building. Keep reading to uncover the hauntings of this Vegas Strip staple. Want to visit this popular casino in person? Book a Las Vegas ghost tour with Vegas Ghosts! 

The Grand Fire

 This calamitous fire started in the Deli, an upscale restaurant on the casino floor, due to several electrical issues that occurred that morning. The Deli was not equipped with sprinklers, and no heat or smoke detectors were installed. After a failed attempt by one employee to contain the fire, witnesses contacted emergency services.As soon as Captain Rex Smith and his fire crew from the Clark County Fire Department arrived, they noticed the eerie sight of “heavy black smoke lying motionless in the atmosphere” above the casino pit. The crew looked toward the Deli. A fireball exploded from the restaurant area, hurtling into the casino. Immediately, the crew began to evacuate the hotel as the heavy, deadly smoke descended upon them.No alarms rang during the fire, as there was no automatic fire alarm system in place. The only alarm system the MGM did have was purely for security purposes. Making matters worse, the building was only equipped with sprinklers in certain areas.The fire spread so quickly due, in no small part, to the decor of the posh Deli restaurant, which was closed that morning. Decorations lined the interior, and layers of ornamentation covered the ceiling and walls. For all their visual appeal, these details were highly combustible, allowing the flames to travel seamlessly. Throughout the casino, flammable materials on the walls, ceiling, and furnishings fed the fire’s engulfing reach.Firefighters managed to isolate the fire to the first few levels of the casino but couldn’t address the subtler but more pressing danger: the smoke.Toxic black smoke and carbon monoxide traveled up the hotel’s floors through elevator shafts, air conditioning ducts, and stairwells. Like much of the hotel, the air conditioning units on the roof were not properly equipped with smoke detectors—instead, the units allowed the smoke and gas to spread throughout the building easily. 

Grand Tragedy

 Many of the guests were not notified of the fire below. The lack of a proper alarm system proved to be a contributor to the high loss of life. When the guests realized what was happening, it was too late for them to escape.Guests on the upper floors of the 26-story hotel tried to evacuate through the stairwells, but those areas were already filled with smoke. The stairwell doors to each floor locked behind them, making escape even more unattainable. Worst of all, only two exits were unlocked and could be reached through the stairwell, but these exits were on the 1st floor—which was in flames—and the 26th, the very top.No one in the stairwells survived.Of the 87 deceased, 75 of those deaths were caused by smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide. One woman, trying to escape the encroaching smoke, leaped from the 17th floor to her death.Most victims died on the casino level and upper floors, with 29 victims being found in their rooms, 21 in elevator lobbies or hallways, 5 in elevators, and 9 in stairwells. Victims on the casino level were found among the remains of casino tables. Black soot was found on the noses and mouths of the inhalation victims in the hotel tower.Thousands of curious passersby on the Strip watched the fire from a distance. Traffic on the streets slowed to a halt as everyone tried to see what could’ve caused an almost mile-high tower of smoke to abruptly rise into the empty, desert morning sky. On the ground below, smoke, fire, broken glass, and cars crushed by the impact of the main casino entrance doors blowing open further crowded the scene.In the aftermath, experts’ assessments of the tragedy conclude that the fire could have been avoided. The dangerous mixture of ignored safety protocols (missing alarms, sprinklers, exits, fire extinguishers, and poorly functioning HVAC units) combined with the flammable, synthetic materials used to decorate the casino luxuriously made what might have been a small, accidental fire into a grievous event.Dozens of lawsuits for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages were filed against MGM and settled in a $223 million fund given to victims and their families after the fire. 

Horseshoe's Haunted Legacy

 The fire revolutionized fire safety protocol and codes in Las Vegas and throughout hotels everywhere, with sprinklers and automated fire alarm systems installed in far greater numbers than in the 1970s. Eight months after the tragedy, the MGM Grand Hotel was rebuilt and reopened. In 1985, it was sold to Harrah’s and rebranded Bally’s before becoming Horseshoe Las Vegas in 2022. The tower where this tragedy struck is still used at Horseshoe.For all the efforts made at putting this tragic past behind them, weeping and coughing—coming from no clear source—have been reported by guests.Some visitors have even noticed ghostly apparitions on the same casino floor as the site of the fire. The ghosts appear to still be gambling, as they were in their last mortal moments. Perhaps some of the otherworldly presences left behind seek vengeance for their preventable deaths. Or perhaps, because of how sudden and unsuspecting so many of their deaths were, they might not fully realize that they have passed and are still seeking closure.Check out our blog for more of the most haunted places in Las Vegas, and be sure to book a ghost tour with Vegas Ghosts to see some of them in person! Sources:latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2010/11/84-die-as-fire-rages-through-mgm-grand-nov-21-1980.htmlfire.co.clark.nv.us/(S(ucam3kt13pmcf2s1y3zimxrk))/Files/pdfs/MGM_FIRE.pdfwww.clarkcountynv.gov/fire/Pages/MGMHotelFire.aspxweb.archive.org/web/20121013202205/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Nov-20-Sun-2005/news/4306613.htmlcardboardamerica.org/2016/11/21/mgm-grand-fire-november-21-1980/