On Dec. 11, the Southern Nevada Health Department (SNHD) shut down both the Golden Nugget’s employee dining room, Lillie’s Asian Cuisine and Carson Street Café as an "imminent health hazard." Twenty-seven demerits were awarded to the eateries. Cockroaches were found "throughout food prep and food storage areas including floor drains and in the electrical access panel."
The SNHD characterized this as a "multi-generational" roach motel, meaning the critters had been there a good long while – evidently since 2008, according to complaints that the SNHD received from Nugget employees. Fortunately, the problem was not widespread in the Nugget. The employee dining room, Lillie’s and the 24-hour café were afflicted because they share a kitchen and the café sits directly above the employee dining area.
A month earlier, fruit flies had been in several areas, including a salad station. An ice machine was later discovered to be succumbing to a combination of oxidation and mold. Photographs taken at the scene in December are, frankly, pretty gross – much too disgusting to reproduce here.
The Nugget, while declaring itself "upset and disappointed," vowing it would never happen again, shifted blame to "a professional outside vendor." Internal documents obtained by KTNV-TV, however, show repeated warnings from the Nugget’s exterminator that the property was ripe for infestation. Reporter Darcy Spears said the pest-control firm had advised Nugget management "to plug holes in floors, walls and ceilings and to get rid of standing water and accumulated grease."
Whatever the case, swift action followed forcible shutdown. By Friday the 14th, all three eateries had been upgraded to ‘A’ status and the employee lunchroom had reopened. The Carson Street Café was back in business the next morning and Lillie’s resumed service late on the 15th.
Click here to access a video report from Channel 8 News: 8 News NOW
The Golden Nugget is just one in a list of hotel-casinos to get hit by the Health Department, including a number of high-end venues, including Sensi at Bellagio, Aquanox at Venetian, Scarpetta at Cosmo, Julian Serrano at Aria, DJT at Trump International. All situations were swiftly rectified and the venues reopened quickly.
