Now just 10 days after the latest, and most horrific mass shooting in US history, the question now falls to Mandalay Bay and what to do with the crime scene?
While the victims of this senseless slaughter were killed at a venue down the street, we all know by now that the shootings took place from Room 32-135 at the Mandalay Bay. The crime scene if it hasn’t been processed completely, will be soon enough, and now Mandalay Bay has to figure out what to do next.
The resort has over 3300 rooms spanning 43 floors, with each floor having between 60-80 rooms per. The shooting at the hotel will certainly have an effect short term, but already people are back to flocking to Vegas because of the perception that the deals will be there. Many believe that the mainstream tourists will not be racing back, they are and they will be; Vegas will be just fine in about six months time.
Back to the Mandalay Bay. Do you shutter that room permanently? The macabre thought here is that sadly people are demented enough to want to rent out that room to see where evil once lurked. Look at some of the places where tragedy struck in recent memory. Pearl Harbor, Ground Zero and the Texas Book Depository are now major tourist attractions in the markets in which they inhabit. And it will happen again eventually.
What should happen is simple; a memorial that if money is charged, should be given directly to a victims fund. Mandalay Bay can afford to have a room or 10 walled off to house the exhibit, and the funds can go towards the forces of good, even if it is built on the premise of evil.
It is the best situation in a no-win…and the house wins. In Vegas, the house always wins.