LOS ANGELES— Results of the Enron scandal have begun to infiltrate the hotel industry, with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas dropping accounting firm Andersen, according to Reuters. “The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is a highly principled and ethical organization,” Hard Rock CFO Jim Bowen said in a statement last Monday. “Our board of directors and management group were uncomfortable with retaining Arthur Andersen as our companys auditors.” Other clients, said Reuters, are keeping the firm on, however. “Our audit committee has always been very diligent in reviewing the auditor, and thats not a problem here,” Marc Grossman, spokesman for Hilton Hotels said. “Andersen is our auditor, and theyve done a good job.” Hilton and officials from other hotel and casino companies said their auditors must be approved by shareholders each year at their annual meetings. They said committees of company board members will decide prior to those meetings whether to recommend shareholder approval for Andersens continued role as company auditor. MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said the auditor issue is less critical for casino companies because their industry is so heavily scrutinized already. “Our industry is so highly regulated that any and all business relationships outside joint ventures have to be approved by state authorities,” he said. “The kinds of transactions that existed in the Enron case couldnt exist in our industry.” Meanwhile, Mandalay Resort Group CFO Glenn Schaeffer praised Andersen for its “outstanding record” in the gaming industry, said the report. “Its fair to say theyre the most knowledgeable outside auditor … for our industry,” Schaeffer said. “Weve had a good experience with Arthur Andersen over the years. We also believe that financial leadership is the responsibility of incumbent management, not outside leaders.”