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Fight goes on outside ring
Following the fiasco in the ring, which saw a deranged Tyson bite off a piece of Holyfield's ear, chaos broke out in the casino and in front of the hotel when guests and players alike ran for cover on word that gun shots were being fired.
Police and security agents quickly had the situation under control, but up to 40 people had to be taken to area hospitals for treatment after the stampede.
For the first time in memory, the hotel shut down a large part of the casino for up to three hours.
Fight night was expected to generate one of the biggest windfalls of the year for the hotel. But a couple of hours after the bout, there were few diehards playing cards, craps or the slot machines and the hotel was open to guests only. At one point, casino staff requested that all guests go to their rooms.
MGM public relations manager Bill Doak would not comment on the riot or the Tyson-Holyfield fight. But he did admit the casino took a significant hit in lost revenues because of the chaos.
"Part of the attraction of major boxing events is that it attracts casino customers from all over the world," Doak said.
Las Vegas police later denied there were gun shots, but arrests were made.
The hotel is under contract to play host to one more Tyson fight, but Doak wouldn't comment on whether the hotel would attempt to break the deal. Most boxing insiders feel that none of the big Vegas hotels will touch Tyson, who draws a gang element to his fights. Following Tyson's victory over Bruce Seldon last September, rapper Tupac Shakur was gunned down just off the strip.
Fight commentator Dr. Ferdie Pacheco disagreed.
"Where there's big money, there's big forgiveness and big amnesia," Pacheco said.