What police say was broken glass caused mass hysteria on the Las Vegas Strip including this weekend’s WSOP events, as fans fled what they thought was a shooting. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Reports of shooting from MGM
The Las Vegas Strip has seen frantic scenes this weekend, after reports of gunfire from the valet entrance of the MGM Grand Las Vegas hotel and casino quickly caused mass panic as crowds ran across the casino floors and took to the streets.
2022 WSOP disrupted at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Paris Las Vegas
The incident occurred on Saturday night and also disrupted the 2022 World Series of Poker at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and Paris Las Vegas. Twitter user D. Stamos/Helodriver was at the epicenter of the panic, sharing photos of armed security personnel and police on the floor of the MGM casino.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) later said the allegations of the shooting were unfounded, and that the reported sound of a glass door smashing caused panic.
D. Stamos/Helodriver shared other photos via social media of the MGM valet’s front entrance, revealing a smashed glass door and some large chunks of rock on the floor.
Fox News Digital It stated that one of the videos reveals LVMPD officers “armed with their weapons running toward the New York and New York sign outside, while the crowds fled in the opposite direction.”
WSOP disrupted
LVMPD reported that one person sustained minor injuries after falling during the initial panic. according to poker newsHowever, several WSOP players were injured in Paris, including Daniel Negreanu, who shared a photo of his torn hand on Twitter:
Tables and chips were sent flying into the Paris Concert Hall, as spectators, officials and WSOP players participating in the three bracelet events headed toward the exits. According to the news source, the state of mass panic led to the three events stopping early, to resume on Sunday.
Fox News I reached out to LVMPD for more information, as the police control chief stated that the incident only happened at MGM, but panic escalated to other casinos. The commander also denied “unsupportive social media reports alleging that the incident was any kind of prank or intentional attack.”
Back to normal
LVMPD Captain Branden Clarkson told reporters at the scene that the person believed to have smashed the glass at MGM has been arrested. MGM Grand Hotel posted on Twitter that operations at the Grand and all Strip properties are continuing as usual.
The floor of the MGM Grand Casino was the scene of a real shooting incident in 2020, after an altercation between two men resulted in a live shot being fired. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
