Activists target panda concept

Have animal rights activists altered the landscape of nongaming amenities in Las Vegas?

Activists have monitored the Las Vegas gaming industry for as long as casinos have used animals to draw attention to their properties.

Organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have doggedly criticized companies for taking animals out of their natural environments for commercial purposes.

The latest action by PETA: writing a letter to Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman and chief executive of the Malaysia-based Genting Group, developers of Resorts World Las Vegas on the Strip, pleading with him “to drop the cruel panda exhibit from your blueprints.”

When Genting in 2013 first announced plans to build a 6,500-room resort on the former site of the Stardust, executives explained that Resorts World Las Vegas would be a Chinese-themed property and, yes, a panda exhibit was planned.

But as plans evolved and Genting delayed and changed the phasing of the project — the initial phase would see 3,000 rooms — the panda exhibit disappeared.

So it was a little surprising for PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman’s letter to hit my email box last week.

“I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and our more than 5 million members and supporters worldwide with regard to rumors that a panda exhibit will allegedly be included in your Chinese-themed resort opening in Las Vegas in 2018,” the letter said.

By the way, the opening date has been pushed back to 2019.

“People frequent casinos for the entertainment, the experience and the hope of leaving with more money than they came with. They don’t go to gamble with the health and welfare of delicate animals who are confined to an artificial environment.”

The use of animals in casino showrooms and in exhibits have appealed to people’s interest in seeing something they’ve never seen before. Most people probably would never have seen a white tiger had the beautiful big cats not been housed at The Mirage during the heyday of illusionists Siegfried & Roy. The tiger enclosure was almost always packed