Smoke

I find it nigh-unbelievable that people are allowed to smoke in public at all, but I guess Vegas has to maintain its permissive/self-indulgent atmosphere, or something. Anyway, I'd like to hear from LVA subscribers as to which casinos are the smokiest/stinkiest, and which are the cleanest. And yes, I know about Park MGM.

South Point: Not too bad overall, but there are some extremely frequent customers who smoke the worst, foulest cigars on the planet. The general smoking level there has tapered off recently.

Four Queens: The level of smoke there makes me play about 1/3 as long as I would otherwise.

Elmer Fudd's Wed Wock: The somewhat upscale vibe of this locals' casino is complemented by high ceilings and a very good ventilation system. Smoke level is quite low.

Bellagio: Those $50 6:5 games help pay for the perfume they constantly puff into the air. Smells like the locker room of the angels.

Maybe we can eventually assign a numerical Stink Index to every Vegas property.

What is so odd is even our local Indian casinos here in the MIdwest have figured out how to get rid of it except for designated areas.  Why in the world can LV not get with the times?  

I'd agree with you on South Point and when you get next to one of those frequent smokers, you might as well just pack up shop and move machines because they don't give a damn!  I've gotten into one too many arguments over it in my day.  Like why when a smoker smokes do they have to put the cigarette away from them when not puffing?  Stick it right in front of your own face if you want to do that.  And why in God's name would you put it closer to a person next to you on a machine versus an empty seat on the other side?  Are those cigarettes burning brain cells too?  

Ellis Island is horrible when it comes to smoke.  And don't even try to go to the karaoke if you have an issue with smoking.  Frickin' chimneys in there, the smoke is so bad. 

The Tuscany isn't too bad except for the section of slots closest to the pool area.  On many occasions I was doing well, and then a couple chimneys wander over, all but chasing me away with their smoking. 

I was going to include EI in my short list. I go there on occasion for the terrific BBQ joint, but I don't play there any more. They used to have some pretty decent VP but removed them all. I've had some moments when I played the crap VP just to get the food discount and I had to move two or three times to be able to play $5 worth of VP without gagging.

The event you mention has happened to me, and I'm sure to pretty much everyone, countless times. You're having fun playing a machine; you're doing great. Then, some asshole clown sits down next to you and lights up a stink-stick. He doesn't actually smoke it--he just holds it in the hand that's closer to you and lets it burn. Your fun is destroyed and you're forced to leave.

If you complain about that, or ask the stinker to modify his behavior, you get the response, "It's a casino," as if that justifies his asshole behavior. At that point, the urge to kill surges from within. I'm really, really surprised that there haven't been multiple incidents when someone blew a smoker's head off. Maybe because the types who smoke in public are also the ones who carry guns in public.

Also...I don't know why nonsmoking casinos in Vegas have never worked. (Again, I know about Park MGM.) I remember Arizona Charlie's Decatur designating the south end of the casino as non-smoking--with absolutely no barriers between that area and the rest of the casino! Just to twist the knife, I guess, they moved all the good VP into the smoking section and put the shit games in the nonsmoking section. All that is typical. Any attempts to make casinos less uncomfortable for non-smokers have been halfhearted, desultory, and cynically incomplete.

I guess that all we can do is wait for all the smokers to die (may it be soon!).

If there is nobody on the other side of the smoker, I have asked them politely to move their cigarette to the other side, as it was bothering me.  Probably had success with that about 50% of the time.  The other times I'll just get up and move, shaking my head.  

I think it would be cool to get one of those little motorized fans and when the smoker puts their cigarette and ashtray on the side I am sitting on, to just use the fan and blow the smoke back at them, and see what they do.  And maybe have my wife video it with her phone.  

I'm a smoker.  I do my best to keep my ashtray away from non-smokers and to blow smoke away from them.  At a smoking gambling table you should expect smokers.  Some people claim that smoking shouldn't be allowed in public.  I believe that a "private" company should be allowed to set their own rules on smoking.  If you don't like it don't go to this private business.

It's settled law that any business that admits and serves all members of the public is a public, not private establishment and is thus subject to the laws regarding public spaces. Just like the casinos can't set their own rules on gambling and drinking, they can't set them on smoking.

That issue caused a major stink (so to speak) in California, where it was ruled that the giant card clubs in L.A. were subject to state smoking laws. Significantly, tribal casinos, being on sovereign tribal territory, were not.

In any event, the real "rule" here is one of common courtesy. There's a LOT of behavior that's legal but is nonetheless obnoxious and rude. Smoking in public is one such behavior.

Many times I've wished I had the urge to pass gas, very loudly and in the general direction of a smoker.

Hey, if you're in a public place that doesn't prohibit flatulence, you're just gonna have to deal with it or move.

I could be in a public place that doesn't explicitly prevent trombone solos, which after all are a protected form of free expression, and I still wouldn't do it.

In general, being an asshole is legal. But the curbs we place on our behavior shouldn't be because that behavior is or isn't legal. It should be because of common decency.

If I was a smoker, I still wouldn't smoke in public. It annoys people and makes them sick. Why the fuck would I purposely do that? Would my addiction be so strong and control me so much that I just wouldn't care, or would try to justify it somehow?

Now that is a great idea!  I'm putting this into play the next time I'm playing next to a smoker.....whether they are being polite or not about it.  :)