Every night from 9:30pm till midnight, the Haunted Vegas Tour takes visitors on a journey through the “haunting grounds of Bugsy Siegel, Liberace, Redd Foxx and Elvis.” Led by professional guides (one of whom is a licensed mortician and embalmer), the tour explores parks, houses, wedding chapels and hotels where paranormal activity has been reported.
The organizers insist that this is not a “ghosts & goblins” show but an entertaining way for visitors to learn about “legitimate documented ghost sightings in the Las Vegas area,” of which there are allegedly more than 21 places. But what is the likelihood of running into a disembodied spirit in a Las Vegas casino? Are some resorts along the Strip really haunted? Here are a few places where apparitions seem to hang out.
Bally’s Resort & Casino – On the morning of November 21, 1980, a deadly fire broke out in the old MGM Grand. Faulty wiring was the cause. Before the blaze could be brought under control and more than 5,000 guests evacuated, 84 persons lost their lives. Three more would succumb to fire-related injuries over the next year. It was the second largest hotel fire in United States history in terms of lives lost. The hotel was destroyed and today Bally’s occupies the site. It is said that ghosts still roam the property—the spirits of those who jumped to their death from windows when rescue ladders couldn’t reach their floor in time. They are said to be especially active on the higher floors, 19~24, in the North Tower.
Flamingo Las Vegas – Many say mobster Bugsy Siegel’s ghost can been seen at the hotel-casino he developed, especially hanging around the pool table or in the bathroom of the Presidential Suite. The mobster was gunned down in Beverly Hills in 1947, so it’s not clear how his spirit ended up back in Vegas. The original property he built was torn down in 1993 and the hotel’s garden was built on the site—which may explain why the ghost has also been reported “lounging by the pool late in the less crowded hours of the late evening.”
Tropicana Las Vegas – Some say “haunted” while others say “cursed,” but there were numerous reports of something decidedly paranormal about the large tiki mask that stood at the entrance to this hotel. Guests who touched it say they developed an ugly purple rash. Those who posed for photos in front of it described a purple haze blurring their pictures. Was it an angry spirit trapped inside the wood causing trouble? The world will never know. Management decided to have the mask removed. Some employees have said it was because they feared the “God of Money” was bringing good luck to too many gamblers. Officially, it was the photo-taking crowds blocking the entrance that spurred the decision.
Luxor Las Vegas – Egyptian pyramids are symbols of the afterlife, the last resting places of pharaohs and kings. If ghosts were to haunt a casino, this would be the one, and there are several candidates for the job. During construction in 1993, many workers were injured in accidents and one of them died, causing others to refuse to work on the site. Were vengeful spirits responsible? Later, a duplicate of King Tutankhamen’s cursed tomb was installed as an exhibit, some say attracting more ill will from beyond the pall. Since then, a number of guests have committed suicide by leaping from the pyramid’s inner balconies. And in 2007, a car bomb killed a 24-year-old in the Luxor’s parking garage. Does the shape of the hotel attract death? Or are supernatural forces at play?
Hotel Delmont – Even if there were no haunted casinos on the Strip, Las Vegas would invent one—and that’s exactly what happened in September 2012, when the “Goretorium” opened its doors across from CityCenter. With a laundry room full of cleanly washed human skin, bathroom mirrors that bleed and body parts galore, this unique year-round horror attraction is the work of actor-writer-director Eli Roth. It’s actually a 60s-era haunted hotel called “The Delmont,” complete with a haunted elevator, a spirited go-go lounge and a spooky chapel. The owners say their intention is to “make sure the guests enter – and never leave.”