Poll : 22 October - 04 November 2008

Analysis

It seems a lot of people feel passionately one way or the other about the aromas that more and more casino properties are pumping out, with feedback ranging from those respondents who love the scents and what they evoke for them, to those (the majority of respondents) who absolutely avoid certain properties like the plague because of the noxious, allergy-inducing smells they encounter.

There's not much middle ground, although one person did write in wishing we'd included an "indifferent" option in the voting. We've read reports on some consumer sites indicating that there are potentially harmful chemicals in some of these aromas, although we understand that others are derived from natural ingredients. If you experience a strong aroma somewhere that bothers you, our best advice is to speak up and either complain to a concierge or other member of staff or else put something in writing to the property. If enough people do that, perhaps they'll tone it down. In the meantime, here's some of your email feedback:

• "I wouldn't care what aroma they used if they could get rid of the smoke stench!"
• "I never noticed anyplace other than the Venetian. I don't mind the smell, but my wife hates it."
• "Mirage: Didn't even notice; Venetian: Wanted to vomit from the smell and will probably avoid going back."
• "I do enjoy the casino smells but they don't make me stay there longer!"
• "I like it when hotels/casinos use the air aromas. It is refreshing compared to what it would probably smell like without it. BUT... I do not like going into the Venetian because of the overpowering aroma they use. I don't have allergy problems & it still aggravates my sinuses. My nose gets stuffy & if I stay too long, I get a headache. None of the other places bother me. I've always wondered why the Venetian's is so strong & if they could tone it down."
• "My family physician has signs in every examining room cautioning patients not to wear any strong smelling colognes or deodorants because they can seriously affect people with Rhinitis, which he himself has. I can see why this could be a real problem in some of the casinos that are pretty thick with strong scents.
• "The only aroma I notice is a very strong smell of moldyness when I walk into the door of the Flamingo closest to Bill's Gamblin' Hall."
• "The answer is, 'most of the above.' My wife loves the smell in some places, but hates it in others. Me, I rarely notice. So, actually her answer is she loves the understated aromas, but hates it when they are too overpowering; my answer is I usually don't notice EXCEPT when the smell is overpowering to most people. But it doesn't bother me."
• "This is always a favorite topic of friends and relatives, the 'Smell Of Vegas,' which, contrary to popular opinion, is not that of money but of these various casino fragrances. I have to agree that the Venetian scent tends to be somewhat overpowering, to the extent that I don’t know if I could ever stay there for an entire weekend. My personal favorite is at Mandalay Bay, and it seems that most of the MGM/Mirage properties have an aroma that is very close to or along the same as the one they pump through Mandalay Bay and THEhotel."
• "So... That moldy marijuana smell at the Tropicana is pumped in??? Interesting... "
• "I definitely go out of my way to avoid the fragranced casinos. I mostly stay downtown so it wasn't a huge issue until the 4 Queens started pumping eau de cheap perfume into their air. I was so sad. I lasted about 20 minutes and then went back to Main Street and the California."
• "I like the Mandalay Bay scent and you can purchase all kinds of sprays, candles, and lotions in their gift shop."
• "I found the poll difficult to answer because I don’t want the smell of smoke and liquor (in fact I wish a casino would be gutsy enough to go non-smoking, but that’s another story) but some of the scents used by the casinos are over-powering. Subtlety isn’t in their vocabulary."
• "The Plaza downtown and the Flamingo smell awfully (and I do mean awfully) similar. I used to tolerate the smell at the Plaza for the nickel video poker, excellent cocktail service, and cheesy lounge acts, but since the nickel VP isn’t so good anymore and the lounge acts have been cut, there’s really no reason to go there and suffer with the smell. I don’t know what the Flamingo’s excuse is. You'd think they'd use pina colada in recognition of Margaritaville, but it smells more like cheap bathroom freshener. In some areas of the Venetian it smells like air-san, the stuff they used to use in gas station restrooms in the '50s and '60s, but in other areas it isn’t so bad. So I guess my preference is for the booze and smoke scent, though not-so-much the smoke part."
• "The first casino I ever noticed using scents was the Santa Fe before it was a Station Casino. A lovely light scent of lilacs and lavender greeted you at the front door and was very pleasant. On the other end of the scale, I remember entering the back door of Palace Station, right next to the poker room, and almost getting knocked off my feet by the stench emanating from the room, reminding me of an old friend's father who always sat around his den in dirty socks while chain smoking and drinking beer. I'll take the floral scents anytime."
• "My son and I went to the Venetian and, as soon as we entered, we both started getting headaches and our eyes and noses burned. We had to leave."
• "Fresh air is appreciated; with asthma, I don't need perfumes."
• "I just returned from a terrific week in Vegas with my dental office staff. Most of them were Vegas virgins, so it was an eye opening experience for them. The QoD/poll about the casino smells (fumes!) was very appropriate. I walked into this operatory to see this lady and immediately had an extremely strong thought of "CASINO." It was so strong it was like a slap in the face. Really strange! I finally figured out that she was wearing a vanilla scented perfume that triggered the thought about casinos. It was exactly the same as the one I had smelled in one of the larger casinos (Venetian?). It was interesting how strong the association between smell and a (casino) location was. I guess that stuff really works!"
• "I am allergic to the smells (the chemicals they put in them). It causes a severe allergic reaction, which causes me to be sick for a couple of days and ruins my trip to Vegas."
• "Gambling, smoke, and booze are all supposed to go together. Those other smells are just for sissies."