Seriously, how long is it going to take the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino to reopen its doors? Sure, the façade and top floors of the hotel were jacked up by a fire on Jan. 25 and subsequently a number of suites and guest rooms sustained water damage during the firefighting efforts, but come on – the casino could be running! Lance Burton! The Monte Carlo Brew Pub!

Oh. Well, it looks like the resort plans to reopen next Friday, Feb. 15, just in time for Presidents’ Day Weekend. Look at that. At least 1,200 guest rooms will be available, with 1,300 more projected for Feb. 22. As well, the 500 rooms directly affected by the incident will remain closed as they get fully remodeled. I guess every smoke cloud has a silver lining, huh?

The casino, convention facilities, restaurants, bars, wedding chapel and Spa & Salon will also reopen, except for the buffet and Brew Pub. And yes, Master Magician Lance Burton can go back to turning scarves into doves or whatever in his showroom, eliminating the need for him to do card tricks in the employee break room anymore.

By Pj Perez

(Lance Burton performs his “removing your underwear without taking off your clothes” trick with Monte Carlo worker Francis Espirito during a lunch break Wednesday. Photo courtesy the Monte Carlo.)

Yesterday “master magician” Lance Burton took time out from his busy schedule of conjuring cars out of thin air and turning paper into doves to entertain Monte Carlo employees while they, you know, try to put back together the hotel that caught on fire last Friday.

Here’s our question: If Burton, whose show typically runs five nights a week at the Monte Carlo, is a “master magician,” can’t he just make the damage disappear magically and save these people the trouble?

By Pj Perez

(Suspicious photo by Joe Weniger)

A three-alarm fire that broke out on the west side of the Monte Carlo’s roof about 11 a.m. has caused fire and emergency crews to shut down the Las Vegas Strip in front of the MGM Mirage-owned resort. Evacuees are being relocated to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, though earlier reports indicated guests were being evacuated to the Bellagio and New York-New York.

UPDATE, 12:48 p.m.: According to the Associated Press, firefighters managed to contain the fire on the west wing of the resort. No major injuries were reported, and investigators are still trying to determine whether the fire caused damage to rooms in the hotel’s upper floors. Though welders were working on the roof of the building before the fire, Clark County officials have not declared the cause of the blaze yet.

By Pj Perez

Look to the skies right now, Las Vegas, and you might notice thick black smoke pluming from the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, as our intrepid camera-phone-using Snitch captured above. That’s the roof of the Monte Carlo on fire! According to LasVegasNow.com, it’s a three-alarm fire, and according to KVBC.com, guests of the Monte Carlo are being evacuated to the Bellagio and New York-New York.

Stay tuned. Or get ready the hot dogs and marshmallows.

By Pj Perez