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Vegas Mass Shooting Victims to Receive $800m Settlement From MGM Resorts

  • Settlement money will go to survivors and families of those killed on October 1, 2017
  • MGM will pay $49m and its insurance companies will cover $751m following judge's approval
  • Stephen Paddock opened fire on concertgoers from hotel room in MGM's Mandalay Bay property
  • Casino company has struggled to offset COVID-19 impact, with 91% revenue loss in Q2 2020
Thomas Stead

Las Vegas sign with flowers for victims of 2017 shooting
A judge has approved an $800m settlement for victims of the Las Vegas Strip shooting, to be partly paid by MGM Resorts. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Survivors, relatives to receive funds

Casino operator MGM Resorts International will pay out a portion of an $800m settlement fee to those affected by the Las Vegas Strip mass shooting. The money will go to more than 4,400 individuals who are surviving victims and the relatives of those killed in the deadliest shooting in recent US history.

shot from windows on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay

On Oct 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of more than 22,000 attending an outdoor music festival on the Strip. The gunman shot from windows on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay – a hotel and casino resort owned by MGM Resorts – killing 58 people and injuring more than 850.

Judge Linda Bell approved the settlement on Wednesday after a Clark County District Court trial, bringing dozens of lawsuits to a close. MGM is set to pay $49m of the total payout, while its insurance companies will cover the remaining $751m. The amount is yet to be dispersed among the plaintiffs, but their attorney, Robert Eglet, told the Associated Press he is hopeful that payments will begin before the end of the year.

More details of the trial

Those affected by the 2017 shooting filed a civil complaint against the Mandalay Bay owner on September 9. The 225-page document accused MGM of negligence, wrongful death, and liability in the tragic incident. The plaintiffs argued that MGM Resorts had failed to protect the concert attendants or stop the assailant from amassing weapons in his hotel room.

decision brings families, victims and the community closer to closure”

According to the Associated Press (AP), MGM Resorts accepted no liability in the case. In a company statement on the trial, it commented: “We are grateful that the decision brings families, victims and the community closer to closure.” Eglet told AP that millions of dollars out of the settlement could go to the most severely injured in the attack, while a minimum of $5,000 would go to each person who filed a claim of unseen injuries.

When police entered Stephen Paddock’s hotel room in the Mandalay Bay hotel, they found 23 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. According to a hotel source, Paddock didn’t move into the hotel room until the night before the attack. He then committed suicide before police were able to arrest him. Although an extensive investigation took place over the course of a year, authorities were unable to determine a specific motive for the attack.

A turbulent 2020 for MGM Resorts

So far this year, MGM Resorts has struggled to offset the impact of COVID-19 and the forced closure of its casino properties in the US and Macau.

In the operator’s latest trading update, Q2 net revenue decreased by 91% year-on-year to $290m. Operating loss was $1bn in comparison to operating income of $371m generated in 2019. As a result, for the first six months of 2020, MGM’s total revenue was down 60% to $2.54bn.

Last week, the reopening of Park MGM and NoMad Las Vegas marked the final MGM properties to open their doors following pandemic closures. Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM, said the operating environment will “remain challenging and unpredictable” because of continued COVID-19 restrictions, safety protocols, and travel limitations.

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