Pinay worker in Las Vegas laments lax security in hotels, casinos

A Filipina working in Las Vegas, Nevada, lamented the lack of adequate security checks in hotels and casinos there, a day after a gunman strafed a music festival from his hotel room, killing dozens.

Interviewed on News To Go on Tuesday (Manila time), Rutherine Umali, a marketing officer and a hotel performer, said establishments in Las Vegas have lax security, and that many of them don't even have X-ray machines.

"Wala po kaming... we don't have anything like that," Umali said, referring to X-ray machines. "Kaya ngayon, now [that] this has happened, they're gonna change the rules, that's for sure."

She said only airports have X-ray machines meant for security checks, meaning anyone could walk into a crowded hotel carrying loaded firearms without being stopped or denied entry.

"If you're going to a theater, they don't scan you... Only if you go into concerts...pero sa mga doors, walang mga ganun po, we don't have that at all. But I think now they're gonna do that," Umali said.

On Monday (Manila time), Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old retiree armed with multiple assault rifles, strafed an outdoor country music festival from a high-rise hotel window, killing at least 59 people and wounding over 200. Police found multiple firearms in his hotel room.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was still determining if there were Filipinos hurt or injured in the incident as of posting time.

Umali said she was in a hotel three miles away from where the shooting took place. She added the Las Vegas Strip was closed due to the deadly incident, and hotels in the area were locked down as rumors circulated that there was shooting in other hotels as well.

Umali said a friend of hers, one of the producers of the country music festival, was among the casualties in the tragedy.

She also said work in hotels in the area is suspended on account of the incident. —Nicole-Anne Lagrimas/KBK, GMA News