Guests file lawsuit against Las Vegas Strip hotel after bat found in hotel room

LAS VEGAS — A group of guests have filed a lawsuit against New York-New York Hotel and Casino after a bat that was alive was reportedly found in their hotel room, according to court records.

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The lawsuit claims that a group of people from Arizona, made up of three families that included four minors, had to get treatments after they were possibly exposed to rabies, KLAS reported. The bat was unable to be tested for rabies.

The incident happened on April 12, 2022, according to the lawsuit obtained by KPNX. The guests were in town for a volleyball tournament. The bat was found in Marcus Rucker and his family’s room on their last night and two of their children’s friends also happened to be in the room.

Rucker said that he woke up around 4 a.m. after hearing a noise by the window. Rucker found a bat and it was alive, just hanging on the curtains, according to the lawsuit obtained by the news outlet.

“Unfortunately, I had to kill the bat. I didn’t want it to bite anybody in the room,” Rucker said, according to KPNX. “We told the hotel where the bat was.” The bat was placed in a cup and put into the stairwell. Rucker contacted the hotel and reported the incident to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health once back in Arizona. He was told to get immediate treatment for rabies exposure.

“I had to get two shots on my leg, one on my shoulder initially the first day, and we had to get subsequent shots for the next three weeks,” Rucker said told the news outlet. “Very, very stressful for my family, for my kids.”

The lawsuit claims that the policies and procedures at the hotel were “insufficient and/or ineffective,” according to KLAS. The lawsuit reportedly states that the plaintiffs are seeking at least $15,000 in damages.

The news outlet reached out to MGM Resorts but they did not immediately reply.