LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two years after 58 people were killed and hundreds more wounded in the 1 October shooting, a massive financial settlement for those victims was announced Thursday morning.
MGM Resorts International will pay between $735 million to $800 million, depending on the number of claimants.
It is believed to be the third-largest victims’ fund in U.S. history, according to a mega-claims administrator who’s doled out money to victims after 9/11 and other disasters.
MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO Jim Murren said in a statement Thursday that the casino giant’s goal has been to resolve the lawsuits it faced over the 2017 Las Vegas massacre “so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process.”
The MGM Resorts was sued over the 2017 massacre where a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay taking aim at concert-goers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
Las Vegas lawyer Robert Eglet, who represents approximately 2,500 of the 4,400 victims in the case, held a news conference to announce the settlement.
“While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horror so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families,” he said.
Eglet said the settlement is not an admission of liability by MGM Resorts. The state’s largest gaming company has insurance coverage for $751 million.
The next step will involve an independent claims administrator/s being appointed by the court to create procedures for allocating the settlement fund among the claimants.