Wow, you really like to pose some zingers, don't you? Still, while the "Best of QoDs" were running, we had time to dig into this one and, with pool season well and truly upon us, were curious ourselves about exactly how the land now lies. Naturally, there's no simple answer, but thankfully the Gaming Control Board is always pretty helpful when it comes to answering questions about the rules, or at least will point us in the direction of all the relevant statutes and regulations.
Let's start with the basics and the cornerstone of this whole issue, which is Nevada Revised Statute 463.0129. In a nutshell, this states that gaming is vital to the Nevada economy and that public confidence in its fairness is crucial to its success, hence the need for lots of regulations and general oversight. It's sub-clause (e) of this regulation that's of particular relevance in this instance. It reads as follows:
"(e) To ensure that gaming is conducted honestly, competitively and free of criminal and corruptive elements, all gaming establishments in this state must remain open to the general public and the access of the general public to gaming activities must not be restricted in any manner except as provided by the Legislature."
In other words, in general all gaming areas must be open to all to play in and watch, but the Legislature can grant exceptions to this rule. One instance of this was when so-called "international gaming salons" (now simply termed gaming salons) -- private gambling rooms for the highest of high rollers -- were legalized back in 2001 (see QoD 12/24/05). Another was when the Palms opened the Playboy Club, which offers gaming tables, but also charges an admission fee. And you're correct: An amendment was made to the rule in order to facilitate this.
It's a really long piece of legalese that we don't want to bore you with, but the nub of it is that the chairman of the Gaming Control Board is empowered to grant exceptions, provided that certain criteria are met. One of these is that the area where the gaming takes place must offer other amenities or attractions that warrant the charging of an admission fee, which we guess the Playboy Club does. Sort of. And which the Hard Rock clearly does -- there's no pool in the casino. Another criterion is that the property must match any games/limits in the fee-paying area with an equal number of the same games/limits in an area that's free for all to enter.
If anyone wants to read this statute in full, it's number 463.15995 and you can find it in the Statues and Regulations section of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board's Web site by clicking here.
The Hard Rock seems to fulfill the criteria of the legislation more than adequately: $20 doesn't seem unreasonable for the cost of a day-pass to a cool pool (another factor that's taken into account in the granting of these special licenses) and plenty of blackjack games offer the same limits inside the casino. However, when it comes to some of the other pools in town, the picture's slightly different.
As we've been covering in recent issues of the Las Vegas Advisor and All In magazine, more and more properties are offering swim-up or poolside gaming and unlike the Hard Rock, these pools are generally inadmissable to non-hotel guests. So we called Gaming Control for the scoop on how this works, and as we thought, you cannot be refused admission if you desire to enter the pool area specifically for the purpose of gambling. In fact, the casino must "post a sign of a suitable size in a conspicuous place near the entrance of the establishment that provides notice to patrons that they do not need to pay an admission fee or cover charge to engage in gaming." And, by extension, you can't be refused admission on other grounds, even if the "admission fee" turns out to be the price of a room at that establi
