Say it Is not So Another Casino Construction Failure

The Great Harrahs has another construction mishap. I am not kidding you. The new horseshoe being built in Cincinatti has a floor colapse while pouring concrete. Eleven people injured. When will this company start taking construction and remodeling projects seriously. I have worked in the commercial side of construction for 27 years pouring concrete slabs on buldings and parking decks and have never been on a job where the false work collapses. This company must really be cutting corners and trying to save a few dollars anywhere it can. This is the second collapse in Ohio by this company, I will never step foot in one of thier properties again. Where else are they cutting costs that may endanger the lives of thier workers and patrons. This company needs some real oversight on any thing they buld in the future. I wonder how they are skimping on the fire supression systems or the electrical systems in these buildings that they are racing to finish in Ohio. What about saving some cost on food preperations at all of the casinos they own. They could surely save a few dollars at the expense of a few customers getting food born illnesses. How about cutting back on security no sense making sure I don,t get mugged in the parking lot if they can save a few dollars. Might as well tighten up the machines some while we are in the savings mode. Lets lay-off some staff also. No sense in offering good service to our customers. Do you think we could skip cleaning the rooms to save a few dollars. How about letting the plumbing go without maintenence for a while. A few sanitary issues would be ok to deal with as long as we save a few dollars.

Sorry about this rant but this company cares about no-one and the only thing that matters is cutting costs at all expense to boost the bottom line a little bit so they look better for thier next public stock offering.

Building plan likely had to pass code/specs before breaking ground. Law suits for everyone!!!

I'm not a huge fan of Harrah's but it seems to me that Harrah's hires contractors to do all of this work - Harrah's corporate staff don't pour the concrete, hammer the nails, purchase the rebar & supplies, etc.; they tender a contract for others to do so on their behalf. The builders/contractors then bid on that contract, and are supposed to build to the plans which are designed by engineers, to building code standards approved by the permit issuing agencies, for the bid price they offer to Harrah's.
So... I understand blaming the contractors/builders, the engineers and even the building inspectors and permit issuers - some or all of whom obviously failed to do their jobs correctly.
I don't quite understand holding Harrah's corporation responsible for this. They hired these contractors with the understanding that they were qualified and that the job could be done correctly for the bid price. The contractors they hired apparently did not do their work right, so isn't that the contractor's fault?
To put it another way: I'm not a handyperson & I can't build anything, so I hire contractors to do any work around my home when I need to. Does that mean if something they build is not done right it is somehow my fault? I don't think so!

When I saw the news yesterday I was sure that somebody would blame Loveman for personally pouring the concrete that caused the collapse rather than the workers, contractors, designers or inspectors. Eventually will we find out that Harrahs is also responsible for Harmon in City Center.

Well said.

CINCINNATI - A section of a floor collapsed during construction of the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Cincinnati injuring 11 workers. All went to the hospital and reported minor injuries. The accident happened at 7:32am this morning [27 January] as concrete was being poured on a single bay within the casino.

The Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati website indicates Messer-Pendleton Construction is the on-site Construction Manager for the project.

Messer-Pendleton??? Maybe Harrahs does have some liability in their choice of contractor...


Leroy Messer & Jr. Pendleton

Sometimes you get what you pay for. That is the point of this whole mess. You hire the lowest bidder and you are not always getting the best job. Sometimes it pays not to be cheap and pay the least amount possible to have a project done. Quality comes with a price. I know there are guys out there that will perform the same task as me for half the money but that in no way means that they can or can not finish the job with the same quality and structural integrity. Many times being the lowest bidder means you are working on very thin margins and any company nows this will result in cutting corners to save the bottom line.

Do you not consider the inspectors role in construction?
You can not make a move without permits and those are granted after inspections.
Some companies are forced to come in with low bids just to make payroll and keep their crews working.
It doesn't necessarily mean the work is below quality.

The reality is that the floor collapsed. The company that bid for and that was doing the job caused the collapse - not the inspectors. Irishjames23 is correct- you get what you pay for.