I'm back from Vegas with a cautionary tale on what not to do if you get food poisoning at the Michelin star restaurant of a 5-star, 5-diamond casino resort.
This is not the story anyone should hope to bring back from a first trip to Las Vegas spent at a top-echelon property.
I'll cut straight to the gist: if you ever suffer foodborne illness in a Las Vegas casino resort, no matter how many stars it might boast of, get medical attention right then and there.
The logistics of following this piece of advice could prove troublesome if you are afraid to venture more than a few steps away from your hotel room's toilet, but be forewarned. Without medical documentation of your digestive trauma, you are likely to find you have no leverage with the resort for compensation.
This is the lesson I learned last week after reporting my daughter's attack of acute gastroenteritis to management at Wynn Las Vegas.
Her illness began about four hours after she ate mussels at Daniel Boulud Brasserie, the Wynn's Michelin star restaurant.
My daughter had pointed out during dinner that several of the mussels in the steamer pot had not opened properly. Of course, she didn't eat any of the suspect ones. However, as we had tickets to the 8 pm performance of Spamalot and wanted to take our seats early, she went ahead with her dessert instead of complaining to the waiter.
At 10 am the next morning, two hours before we were scheduled to check out, she knocked on my door to tell me she had spent the entire night in the bathroom. My immediate thought was to phone and ask for a late departure. I also thought management might want to know about a possible food safety issue.
The general manager handled my call most smoothly and expertly, listening graciously to my explanation of the problem and assuring me that he would arrange for a 2 pm checkout for our two rooms.
When he asked if my daughter needed medical attention, I made the mistake of declining that offer but did accept his gesture of sending ginger ale and crackers to my daughter's room. The GM told me a security officer would phone to take a detailed report, which would lead to a full investigation of the issue.
As promised, the security officer phoned within a few moments, recorded the details of the incident, and gave me a report number along with instructions to call the resort's risk management department in 24 to 48 hours for resolution status.
At that point, I was quite happy with how the Wynn was handling our complaint. Unfortunately, all that goodwill disappeared two mornings later, less than a minute into my call to risk management.
After taking the report number, the woman who answered told me the claims adjuster handling the case was not available and asked if my daughter had seen a doctor. She questioned the validity of my daughter's symptoms, informing me brusquely that my daughter had not in fact suffered food poisoning. Food poisoning, I was told, would have required a hospital stay and antibiotics. The chef at Daniel Boulud, she assured me, was an artist who personally inspected every piece of meat and fish served in the restaurant.
What's more, she said, there was no possibility of compensation without medical documentation.
The call ended quickly, as I was rendered nearly speechless with astonishment over the woman's manner. I hadn't asked specifically for compensation; I just wanted the report taken seriously. Luckily, we didn't suffer any direct financial loss. We missed a full day of sightseeing, but we didn't have to cancel any prepaid activities or change our flight plans.
A few moments after hanging up, I realized I had forgotten to ask the name of the person actually handling the case.
Upon my second call, the tone of the risk management gatekeeper was a bit more conciliatory, even respectful. The Wynn's nationally recognized food safety expert would be making a full investigation, I was assured, but again she admonished there would be no compensation without medical documentation.
Before ending that second call, I did point out that our short visit had brought significant revenue to the establishment.
I've yet to place a third call to the Wynn. My next point of contact will be the Southern Nevada Health District.
What really bothers me is the attitude expressed by the Wynn's risk management staff member, what amounts to a foregone conclusion that my daughter's illness cannot possibly have been caused by eating contaminated food in the Daniel Boulud Brasserie.
The real irony here: we're talking about a possible $24 refund for an order of moules frites from a total tab that ran into the thousands for rooms, meals, show tickets, and incidentals. And that doesn't count anything that might have been left at the blackjack tables.
A double irony: the two avid players in our party racked up enough points in the casino for several comped meals during a future stay at the Wynn Las Vegas that, doubtless, will never take place.
For more information, start with the foodborne illness reference published online by the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Especially useful is the FDA's quick reference chart "Onset, Duration, and Symptoms of Foodborne Illness." Also see the FAQ on foodborne illness by the Southern Nevada Health District.
