Las Vegas Review-Journal

Mandalay 32nd floor once again accessible

Most staff schedules restored to full-time

- By Todd Prince Las Vegas Review-journal

Elevators at Mandalay Bay are again stopping at the 32nd floor after a pause at the end of last year.

Mandalay Bay closed a few floors starting in late November amid a guest slowdown caused by the combinatio­n of the holiday season and fallout from the Oct. 1 mass shooting.

A lone gunman shot at concertgoe­rs from a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, tarnishing the hotel’s image. He killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others.

Mandalay Bay reception officials said Sunday evening that all floors were back in use. In December, officials with MGM Resorts Internatio­nal, the hotel’s parent company, said they expected to reopen the floors once the convention season resumed in the first quarter. Mandalay Bay is home to the city’s second-largest convention center.

“As we stated previously, some portions of the 32nd floor were not being used due to occupancy demand, but that

MANDALAY BAY ▶ review journal.com/ floor32

would change as occupancy increased,” said MGM spokeswoma­n Debra Deshong.

“Some portions of the 32nd floor are now being used as we accommodat­e an increased influx of guests.”

Deshong said there are no plans to ever rent the rooms occupied by the gunman.

All restaurant­s at Mandalay Bay have reopened after extended holiday

closures caused by last year’s slowdown.

Deshong said 90 percent of the staffers who had their hours cut and were placed on reserve in November are now back to full time. The remaining staff on reserve will return to full-time work in the coming weeks, she said.

With about 180,000 people expected in Las Vegas for CES, there is high demand for rooms.

The massive show officially kicks off Tuesday and wraps up Friday.

The cheapest rate at Mandalay Bay for the four nights with check-in on

Monday and checkout on Friday is nearly $2,000, including resort fees and taxes.

MGM Grand’s lowest price for the same days is nearly $2,600, or 30 percent more.

This might indicate the lingering impact on Mandalay Bay rates from the shooting. Mandalay Bay had a higher average room rate during 2015 and 2016 compared with MGM Grand.

Contact Todd Prince at tprince@ reviewjour­nal.com or 702-383-0386. Follow @toddprince­tv on Twitter.

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