This is one of those questions we're asked with some regularity so, while talking to the Chief of the Enforcement Division at the State Gaming Control Board recently, we figured we'd pose it to him.
The answer, as we'd guessed, was a combination of different common-sense factors. The airport's never asked for a table-game license and it's unlikely to do so for a number of reasons. For one thing, it's a fairly transient environment and, barring a delay to your flight, most people pass through pretty quickly. You might have a few minutes to spare and throw a little money at the nearest slot or video poker machine (even though you know the ones at the airport have lousy pay schedules), but it's unlikely you'd want to get on a hot streak on the crap table and have to choose between walking away or missing your flight.
Obviously, there's a lot of surveillance in operation at the airport, but it's geared toward looking for potential terrorists and other bad guys, not people trying to slip dodgy dice or decks into the game or the kinds of card-counting advantage players that casinos hate. In order to obtain a license and operate securely, a pit at the airport would have to introduce a separate casino surveillance room in an environment that's more chaotic and much harder to control than a private casino property.
Bottom line? In order to operate as efficiently as possible, the airport's main concern is getting people in, keeping them moving, and getting them out again; it's a transportation hub, not an entertainment complex. The slot machines don't take up much space and practically run themselves, but once you start getting into tables and dealers, it's a whole different pain in the neck.
The Chief saw the very real possibility that, if a hotel is ever built as part of the airport complex, as is the case in some other major cities, it would have a casino attached, which would be the closest it would get to the airport, since you're unlikely ever to find one in the middle of Terminal 1.
