UPDATE: PORT Adelaide footballer John McCarthy was drinking and had been at a nightclub where drugs were freely available before falling to his death at a Las Vegas hotel, his club says.

McCarthy was with 10 other Port players on an end of season trip but became separated from his teammates at a nightclub where the sportsmen were offered drugs.

Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas said it was as yet unclear whether McCarthy had been affected by drugs, but players admitted drugs had been widely available. The club had no plans to drug-test the returned players.

"My understanding is that drugs were freely available," he said.

"They were mindful of it, they had been drinking, they were surprised at the stuff that was going on around them."

A teammate phoned McCarthy who promised he was on his way back to their hotel only moments before his fatal plunge.

It had followed a concerned call from McCarthy's girlfriend who phoned one of his mates because the footballer had called her to say he was on his own.

Speaking this afternoon, Mr Thomas was able to paint a clearer picture of the circumstances surrounding the 22-year-old's death and his final phone call to his partner Danielle Smarrelli.

"She said the call went okay. It was a 'missing you' sort of phone call but it is a private matter between them," he said.

"The overall sense of it was that he was okay. She was however concerned enough, because he was on his own, to make contact with one of the other players ... just to try and get him back with the group. That player contacted John who suggested he was on his way back to the hotel.

"At that point the group felt as if he was okay and that he was coming back.

media_camera Keith Thomas talks to the media. Picture: Sarah Reed

"We would suggest that the accident happened soon thereafter."

The Port Adelaide footballer died accidentally when he jumped from the third floor of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas towards a palm tree, it was revealed this morning.

Stuart Bailey, a Victorian police officer and Western Bulldogs runner who was in Vegas at the time, said he spoke to the Clark County coroner's office today who confirmed McCarthy's accidental death.

The footballer had left the Wynn casino about 4.30am Sunday and walked to the Flamingo Hotel and Casino 4km away.

He took a lift to the fourth floor and walked through an open exit door where he went on to the roof.

"It seems to be at this point in time the evidence suggests he's jumped off the wall (on the roof) to a palm tree," he said.

"He may have been disorientated at how far the fall was, he's slipped and he's fallen to the ground."

McCarthy and a group of Port Adelaide players had arrived in Las Vegas around 5pm on Saturday evening.

At midnight they went to the luxury XS nightclub inside Wynn's casino, the most exclusive hotel in Las Vegas, which costs $70 to enter.

A group of Western Bulldogs players, including Robert Murphy, saw the Port players in the line at XS but decided to go to another venue.

media_camera John McCarthy tributes

The Port Adelaide players had been drinking heavily.

McCarthy left XS on his own and made his way through back streets to the Flamingo Hotel.

Mr Bailey said there was no CCTV images of McCarthy on the roof but there was footage of him entering the main foyer.

Police in Australia were taking a statement from Smarrelli today.

They will also be checking phone records and text messages sent and received by McCarthy in the hours leading up to his death.

Read more tributes from today's newspaper

media_camera Port Adealide teammates Brett Ebert, Tom Logan, Hamish Hartlett, Jackson Trengove, Paul Stewart and Travis Boak return to Adelaide.

It confirms earlier comments by Eddie McGuire on his Triple M breakfast show this morning, who said McCarthy was reportedly "walking around a disused part" of the Flamingo Hotel before he fell 9m from the roof and later died.

"In fact it was Bugsy Siegel's old apartment of the Flamingo," McGuire said.

Siegel was an American gangster who opened the Flamingo Hotel in 1946 and stayed in the luxurious presidential suite. He was gunned down in 1947.

Flamingo Hotel and Casino spokeswoman Debbie Munch said the management would not make any further comment until the coroner’s report was released.

"At this point we want to protect the integrity of the investigation," Ms Munch said.

"We are wanting to get all the facts. We would never want to compromise the investigation. The loved ones and family deserve to get the correct information."

Tiffany Brown from the Clark County Coroner's Office was this morning measuring the distance from the wall to where McCarthy landed.

Grief-stricken Port Adelaide players arrived home to Adelaide from Las Vegas this morning.

Ten players – Alipate Carlile, Matthew Broadbent, Hamish Hartlett, Tom Logan, Jackson Trengove, Travis Boak, Andrew Moore, Justin Westhoff, Brett Ebert and Paul Stewart – landed at Adelaide airport at 10.45am (local time) and were quickly whisked away through a secure exit.

They did not leave via the regular departure ramp and were therefore not greeted by any family or friends.

media_camera Coroner's investigator Tiffany Brown inspecting the scene with violent crimes investigator Damon Young. Picture: Rupert Thorpe

The 10 were joined by Port player welfare manager Stuart Cochrane and media manager Andrew Rutter.

The players were offered brief counselling this morning in Sydney before boarding their flight to Adelaide.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas is expected to meet with the 10 players immediately before addressing the media later today.

Earlier club spokesman Andrew Rutter said the players were "deeply shocked by the event" and would be making no public comment.

It comes as Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde visited the Las Vegas Coroner's Office this morning as he continues preparations to return McCarthy's body home.

media_camera Investigating coroner Tiffany Brown measures the distance from the wall to the base of the palm tree, where McCarthy landed. Picture: Rupert Thorpe

Rohde, a close family friend, also saw the scene for the first time and took pictures to send back to relatives in Australia.

Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said the body would be ready to be released today.

But it was unclear when McCarthy's remains would fly to Australia as Rohde was on the phone with funeral directors making arrangements.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives and members of the Clark County Coroner's office in Las Vegas had planned to interview witnesses today in the hope of a breakthrough in the tragic death.

They returned to the Flamingo Hotel and Casino to examine the scene where McCarthy died.

media_camera Peter Rohde, manager of Port Adelaide, talks to reporters in Las Vegas. Picture: Rupert Thorpe

Further investigations will focus on how McCarthy ended up alone on the roof of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in the moments before his tragic fall.

Violent crime detective Damon Young said investigations were ongoing but could take weeks.

He said no police reports have been filed yet.

Detective Young said that McCarthy's death was tragic.

"It is not routine, each is very tragic," he said.

media_camera Tribute for Port Adelaide AFL player John McCarthy, who died while holidaying with teammates in Las Vegas, in front of the at the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Ms Brown and Detective Young also went into the Flamingo Hotel but did not say whether they had talked to management.

Rohde did not wish to comment this morning but did give an interview at Las Vegas airport last night, when he said the family were "shattered" at McCarthy's sudden death.

We will never forget you, John

It emerged yesterday that the 22-year-old had phoned Ms Smarrelli in a disoriented state just hours before his death.

Laura Meltzer, an officer from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, said "we will complete that investigation thoroughly".

media_camera A Port Adelaide footballer has died in an incident at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas

"They are going to talk to everyone that may have been present," she said.

"This is a 24-hour town. We have a lot of people coming and going at all hours of the day and night down on the strip, and short distances off the strip."

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Toxicology tests were done on McCarthy's body yesterday, although Mr Murphy stressed the results would never become public unless released by the player's immediate family.



Mr Murphy ruled out foul play as a cause of the 22-year-old's death.



"There is nothing that appears to be suspicious in nature, such as that there was no interaction in nature between two humans on this roof," he said.



"It does not appear he was with any other person."

McCarthy was found in the driveway of the Flamingo about 5.40am local time on Sunday.



Medical personnel transported him to a trauma centre where he was later pronounced dead.

- with Scott Walsh, Zac Milbank, AAP



Originally published as McCarthy a 'unique, loved young man'