Las Vegas Strip Waldorf Astoria Window Pane Appears to Spontaneously Shatter and Fall 23 Stories Down: VIDEO

Posted on: September 21, 2018, 02:30h. 

Last updated on: September 21, 2018, 01:54h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Not even one month since the Waldorf-Astoria took over the former casino-less Mandarin Oriental on the Las Vegas Strip, it’s already had its first scandal: a huge window pane on the 23rd floor of the Strip property suddenly shattered early Thursday morning, causing huge chunks of glass debris to fall on the sidewalk below. And it was all caught on video by a hotel guest.

Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas
Shattered glass fell 23 stories on Thursday from the ritzy Waldorf Astoria. (Image: Waldorf Astoria/Casino.org)

Guest Crystal Schenkel captured the incident and posted the video to Twitter. In a tweet she explained, “My friends and I were exiting the bar when we heard the staff sound upset. Then we saw that the window had already been shattered. It soon then proceeded to fall off.”

Schenkel added that she believed someone had thrown an object that struck the large floor-to-ceiling window. The 23rd floor of the Waldorf Astoria is home to the SkyBar and Tea Lounge. The space offers views of the surrounding Las Vegas Strip.

We can confirm that last night at approximately 12:30 am, the outer pane of a double pane glass window shattered in our 23rd floor sky lobby,” property spokeswoman Erica Johnson said in a statement. “The inside pane is still intact.

“No guests or team members were injured and there was minimal property damage,” Johnson added. “We are currently conducting an investigation into the cause and working to repair the outer pane.”

Damage Control

The Waldorf Astoria began operations in August under the Hilton brand after the former Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas was sold by MGM Resorts and United Arab Emirates investment company Dubai World. The two companies partnered to build CityCenter, the largest privately funded construction project in US history.

It was no easy task. The nearly $10 billion undertaking generated much controversy during its construction phases.

Six workers were killed during the complex’s building, and in 2008 workers walked off the job in protest of poor safety conditions. The Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council forced contractors to implement more rigorous safety precautions before work was permitted to resume.

Along with the Waldorf Astoria, CityCenter is home to Aria, Vdara, The Crystals, The Harmon, and Veer Towers. Like its predecessor, the new hotel will continue to be nongaming.

Upstanding Reputation

The Mandarin Oriental consistently ranked as the top hotel in Las Vegas during its tenure. It’s also been ranked as one of the top guest stays in the US, period.

US News & World Report ranked the Mandarin No. 9 on its 2017 Best Hotels list. Aria’s Sky Suites (No. 42) was the only other Nevada hotel to even make the top 50.

That’s not to say Las Vegas doesn’t have many other top-tier hotels. Other than New York, Sin City is tied with Los Angeles for the most “Gold Badge” resorts, a distinction that recognizes hotels that placed in the top 10 percent of the media outlet’s ranking database.

They are Cosmopolitan, Encore, Wynn, MGM Grand Skylofts, Four Seasons, Bellagio, Aria, Palazzo, and Venetian.

With no solid evidence of what shattered the Waldorf window, guests are likely to remain leary, with the ammo-popping Mandalay Bay 32nd floor window still all too fresh in the minds of many a Las Vegas visitor. The first anniversary of the shooting that left 58 dead and hundreds wounded is only two weeks away.