Las Vegas massacre survivors and families reach US$735 million settlement with hotel

Flowers and a sign reading "Honour 58" hang on a fence across from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino as a tribute to those killed. PHOTO: AFP

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Survivors and family of 58 people who were slain in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history have reached a settlement of at least US$735 million (S$1 billion) with MGM Resorts, a law firm representing the victims and MGM Resorts International said on Thursday (Oct 3).

MGM Resorts owns the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas where Stephen Paddock, 64, fired over 1,100 rounds from his 32nd-floor suite into a crowd of 22,000 people at an outdoor country music festival on Oct 1, 2017, slaying 58 and wounding 800 others before killing himself.

"While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horrors so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families," Robert Eglet, a lead counsel representing some 2,500 plaintiffs in the case, said in a statement.

The total settlement amount might rise to US$800 million, depending on how many claimants choose to participate, according to the law firm Eglet Adams.

"Our goal has always been to resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process. This agreement with the plaintiffs' counsel is a major step, and one that we hoped for a long time would be possible," Jim Murren, chairman and chief executive of MGM Resorts said in a statement.

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