Family behind the fireworks: From cigars to microchips, Grucci has seen and done it all

Phil Grucci remembers one of the first pyrotechnic shows that his family’s business produced in Las Vegas. In 1984, casino mogul Steve Wynn wanted to herald the expanded Golden Nugget with a fireworks show.

Grucci got in a U-Haul with the products and drove from New York. It didn’t take long for Fireworks by Grucci, a New York-based company, to become the go-to for fireworks extravaganzas and casino implosions in Southern Nevada.

“From that point it was the Mirage to all of the implosions that we were part of, the Dunes was another benchmark,” he said. “Pretty much every building on that Strip that had an opening fireworks display, we produced it.”

Fireworks by Grucci will run another New Year’s Eve show on the Strip this year, continuing its strong presence in Las Vegas. Its pyrotechnicians have co-produced dozens of events with Las Vegas tourism authorities and been the go-to for casino openings in the Strip’s modern era.

“I went to the Sahara implosion and he did a countdown that he designed where the number 10 shot up in the air, 9, 8 – it was the coolest thing,” Tim Keener, president of America’s Party co-producer Las Vegas Events, said. “That’s Phil and his design team.”

Fireworks in the family

The family’s business goes back even further than Wynn’s Golden Nugget and Mirage. The Gruccis started working with pyrotechnics in Bari, Italy in 1850. The family moved to the U.S. through Ellis Island in 1910 and by the third generation, a full-time business was underway in Bellport, New York. Phil Grucci joined the business in 1981 and purchased the company from his aunt and uncle in 2013.

He now leads the worldwide business with his son Christopher and nephew Corey – the Vegas show’s logistics coordinator and production manager, respectively. The business has grown from a small operation in competition with other fireworks producers in Long Island to a global brand responsible for shows at several Olympic Games and presidential inaugurations.

“My generation was fortunate enough to be able to see that migration of technology and design,” Phil Grucci said. “It went from the days that grandpa used to light fireworks with the cigar to electronics and automated systems. Now with computers, everything is wireless and some shells have small microchips inside of them.”

In Las Vegas

To set up America’s Party, the Strip’s show, the Grucci team begins working with co-producers, Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, in the spring. Keener said the groups set up hotel contracts, run risk analysis and review the rooftops’ structures to make sure they can handle fallout zones.

In the summer – while Grucci employees are preparing for Fourth of July shows – they’re sourcing the products planned for December from the company’s manufacturing facility in Virginia or from overseas suppliers in Spain and Italy.

By December, the products are shipped to Las Vegas and put into storage until five days before the show. Then a 66-person crew will install the show – working a combined 3,960 hours to set up an eight-minute performance – and an additional 90 hotel, security and public safety personnel are involved in the setup and production.

“We have 24/7 metro, because we’ve had issues in the past where people want to get up on that rooftop and look around,” Keener said. “It’s secure now beyond belief.”

Scott Cooper, director of business development and a leader in the America’s Party show, said he thought the company continued to win contracts with Vegas tourism groups because of the quality of work.

“I think it’s the safety, knowing what products to use, training your team to be able to safely produce an event of this magnitude,” Cooper said. “Obviously we’re doing something right and they like what we’re doing. It’s a big undertaking and I don’t think there’s many companies in the United States that can do it, so it’s really humbling.”

Global entertainment

Las Vegas isn’t the only major show for the company, an 11-time Guinness World Record holder. They produce fireworks extravaganzas year-round, though the season typically comes in waves around Independence Day and New Year’s Eve. Phil Grucci said the company may produce about 80 shows in July and 20 shows on New Year’s Eve, but the winter shows are often larger and can take them across the globe.

This year, the company will have about 400 pyrotechnicians working in four countries: the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Bahamas.

The cost for these shows can vary greatly. A ground-based show can be several thousand dollars, but the price goes up when they move the firing stages to rooftops.

Shows outside the U.S. tend to spend even more. For instance, Grucci will be in Ras Al Khaimah, an Emirate, for the holiday as they try to break more world records with fireworks and drones.

“Some of the programs that we’re producing overseas, you’re into the millions of dollars for a six-to-eight minute performance,” Phil Grucci said. “But that millions of dollars gets 20, 30, 40 million impressions and when you’re looking at the clientele that we have bring us in, it’s not only to entertain the local audience but it’s also to get the word out to the world.”

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.