You’ve heard it said of people that they’ve got their "hair on fire." That was literally the case for Chicago attorney and Vdara condo owner William Pintas. Midday on Sept. 16, while sunning himself at the Vdara pool, Pintas smelled something burning and realized it was his own hair that was being singed. He tried to put on his sandals, but they’d become scorching hot.
Pintas' plastic shopping bag began to melt, an image he captured on his camera – a sight soon seen around the world. As he told AOL News, "Within 30 seconds, the back of my legs and back were burning. My first thought was, 'Jesus, they destroyed the ozone layer!'"
It turns out the phenomenon giving Pintas the hot foot was well known to Vdara employees, who had dubbed it the "death ray." The curvature and glass exterior of Vdara’s south-facing wall collect the sun’s rays and focus them into a 10-by-15-foot "hot spot" (like so, which traverses the pool area during a 90-minute noontime span. Although no temperature readings are available, the "death ray" has melted materials comparable to polyethylene and polypropylene, which liquefy between 120 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
The story broke on a Saturday and the following Monday saw CityCenter brass out in force to inspect the "death ray," led by CEO Bobby Baldwin. Hotel owner MGM Resorts International thought the coating it had laid on Vdara’s glass would sufficiently contain the "lensing" effect of the curtain wall but it had clearly proven insufficient. MGM said it had already been working on the ensuing problem – but evidently had not been doing so with much success.
A rival contractor, SSAF International, told AOL reporter Steve Friess that it had made MGM aware of the problem in 2008 and supplied AOL with internal documents that buttressed its claim. "Then they put the landscaping in and all the trees died within a week because of the heat," SSAF CEO Nick Ashton said to him. "The amount of heat there is ridiculous."
Thanks to its catchy nickname, the story quickly went viral. The three major U.S. broadcast networks all ran news coverage, as did the BBC, National Public Radio, the tabloid program "Inside Edition" and Pintas’ hometown station, WGN-TV. Vegas-centric podcast Five Hundy by Midnight had particular fun with the incident. Host Tim Dressen playfully exaggerated, "If you're staying at Vdara and planning to use the pool, be very careful. Make sure you slather yourself in sunscreen. Wear a sweater. People are going to be bursting into flames." Self-described "Bio Futurist" @misadventurer was inspired to Tweet that Vdara would become the new hipster scene, adding, "hotel starts with VD and causes a burning sensation."
Such widespread exposure has also raised awareness of the phenomenon itself, known as "solar convergence." In other parts of the country, it has melted and buckled the aluminum siding of houses, and kids at a Las Vegas school like to melt plastic cups in the hot spot they call "the bakery." MGM spokesman Gordon Absher, in attempt to minimize the PR damage, noted the existence of similar convergences at Circus Circus and Mandalay Bay.
MGM has little choice but to grin and bear it for the time being. Telling the Review-Journal his company had been "good sports," Absher said, "We have no other complaints that are similar to what [Pintas] has told you," nor does Pittas have any intention of suing. Putting a positive spin on the "death ray," Absher said to Friess, "Vdara is being discovered, and that's always a struggle in this economy."
