UPDATED: Strat Guest Sues Vegas Hotel After Bed Bugs Allegedly Bit Her Butt, Leg

Posted on: October 10, 2024, 06:31h. 

Last updated on: October 10, 2024, 02:49h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Update:

The Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower responded to Casino.org’s request for comment on Thursday after a guest at the property filed a lawsuit alleging that she had suffered permanent scarring after being bitten by bedbugs while staying at the property on the north end of the Vegas Strip.

In response to Casino.org’s request, a spokesperson for the Strat told us:

“As this is an active legal matter, The STRAT has nothing to share at this time.” Instead, it referred news organizations to a prior statement from the Nevada Resort Association, an industry trade group.

The health and safety of our guests and employees is the resort industry’s highest priority. With approximately 155,000 hotel rooms and 41 million annual visitors, four rooms impacted over a nearly five-month period that generated millions of room nights shows these are extremely rare and isolated occurrences,” the organization said.

“The minute number of incidents reflects the comprehensive and proactive health and safety measures and pest-control procedures Las Vegas resorts have in place to prevent and address issues. Unfortunately, these pests can be transported anywhere unwittingly in luggage and clothing. While incredibly rare, when reported our members take swift action in accordance with health and safety requirements. Guests are immediately relocated, and the room is taken out of service for extensive cleaning and extermination to eradicate any pests.”

Previously:

A Mississippi woman filed a lawsuit against the Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower this week after she suffered “permanent scarring” from bed bug bites that took place while at the Las Vegas property, according to a local news report.

bed bug
A bed bug, pictured above. A woman who stayed at the Strat is claiming she was bitten by bed bugs at the Las Vegas property. (Image: Modern Pest)

The pesky insects bit Krystal Nailer on her butt and left leg while she was staying overnight at the hotel in October 2022, according to Tuesday’s lawsuit as reported by Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

The bites caused “painful welts.” She also “suffered terrible itching and pain for weeks,” the lawsuit further claims.

Nailer also spotted a bed bug on her hotel room bed, the report added.

She called the hotel’s front desk to complain and a Strat employee reportedly went up to her room and inspected for the insects.

“The employee took an incident report and provided [her] with hydrocortisone cream for her injuries,” according to the lawsuit.

Since her stay at the hotel, she has suffered emotional distress and economic loss. She discarded clothes that were in the hotel room, KLAS reported.

Unwanted Guests

In February, it was reported that health inspectors found live bed bugs at four Las Vegas Strip casino resorts — Encore, Venetian, Mirage, and Excalibur — over several months.

In August 2023, Casino.org reported the insects were found at seven hotels over the prior two years: Circus Circus, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, The Palazzo, Tropicana, MGM Grand, and Sahara. In October, an additional report revealed bed bugs were found at The Venetian and Park MGM.

When Casino.org contacted the first seven resorts that found bed bugs, the Tropicana responded that it regularly conducts “comprehensive preventative maintenance programs.”

While highly unlikely, in the event of a complaint, we immediately isolate the affected room and its surrounding areas,” the statement added. “At that point, a third-party service will evaluate the situation and provide a recommendation on appropriate next steps, including professional treatment, should anything be found.”

In another statement to Casino.org, the Sahara wrote: “While extremely unlikely, our immediate response protocol ensures any issue is successfully resolved.”

In still another statement to KLAS, MGM Resorts International previously stated: “We have comprehensive procedures in place.”

Common Problem

In May, Forbes magazine reported that The Sleep Doctor conducted a survey that revealed that 14% of U.S. travelers “reported a bed bug encounter in the past year, and 20 percent of those sightings happened in five-star hotels.”

A national registry, BedbugReports.com, keeps online records of bed bug incidents at US and Canadian hotels.

Bed bugs are generally known as parasitic insects that often bite people during the night. Their bites can cause rashes and allergic reactions.