MontBleu staff credited with saving man's life in swimming pool

STATELINE, Nev. - Staff members at MontBleu Casino Resort are being credited with saving the lives of two people who had been swimming in the hotel's swimming pool. One of the swimmers, a 25-year-old man from Fairfield, Calif., had been underwater for almost two-and-a-half minutes before being pulled from the water.

On Monday, January 18, 2021, Charanverr Singh, 25 and 22-year-old Kaur Pawandeep went to the hotel's pool to enjoy some time in the water. Neither of them are strong swimmers and when they were in the deep end of the pool they both started experiencing fatigue. Alert spa attendant Arcelia Politron saw they were in distress and threw a life ring to Kaur and pulled her to the side and got her get out of the pool.

The male had gone under water by this time and Arcelia called the security office for help. On the scene right away was officer Michael Griffin who jumped into the pool and recovered Charanverr. At this time the swimmer had been underwater for two minutes, 29 seconds according to Tahoe Douglas Fire Marshal Eric Guevin.

Griffin pulled the lifeless man to the swim deck and was joined by officer Chris Rehn and engineer David Hicks. They started CPR immediately, saving the man's life, said Guevin. By then, Tahoe Douglas Fire personnel had arrived and were able to stabilize the patient before transporting him to Barton Hospital. He has since been released.

"The patient is a lucky man, but it wasn't just luck. Having the right people there made all the difference and that didn't happen by chance," said Guevin. "MontBleu had trained staff that took extremely quick action and saved a life."

All officers at MontBleu are trained in both Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External defibrillator (AED), according to Director of Security Gary Armstrong.

Armstrong said the two guards are experienced and have been with the casino for several years.

"We always do the best we can, but this was pretty significant," said Armstrong. "This turned out to be a happy ending."

Plans are in the works at MontBleu to have special recognition for the staff members involved in saving the two people.

Guevin said this incident should serve as a reminder to always swim with a partner, use the buddy system or designate a "water watcher." He said people should also take a CPR class so they're trained in case of an emergency.

"The deep end doesn't have to be the dead end," said Guevin. "Get in a body of water feet first the first time, know the depth of the water and your skill water."