Fear Not For MGM Mirage, Little Ones

Since I'm sure you've been worried, I just got a little piece of info that I guess I should've known but didn't. In chatting with Alan Feldman, the MGM Mirage spokesman and veep, he explained that it's difficult to assess how much the Monte Carlo fire and closure will cost per day because they have "business interruption insurance." Apparently, they also had that in 2004 when the Bellagio was shut down for four days because of an Easter-weekend blackout.

I'd love to find out what such insurance costs and covers and who provides it to businesses that lose MILLIONS a day when they're closed. Also, I can't think of another resort company in Vegas that's ever had to employ it. The MGM Mirage, after all, had to shut down the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo because of freak events. What other resorts have had such misfortune? Did they shut down the MGM Grand casino when they had that riot after the Tyson fight a while back? That, too, was an MGM Mirage property, unless it happened before 2000. I wonder if all those casinos on the Gulf Coast were covered -- and up to how much? -- after Hurricane Katrina.

Feldman also says there's no telling yet when the place would reopen, but he and I will speak later tonight after he goes to a briefing for a SPECIAL EDITION OF THE STRIP that I'm going to try to post much later tonight.