To date, banning smoking outright has not been a recipe for success for any casino. In the early 1990s, the small grind joint in Las Vegas called Silver City became the world's first casino to go totally smoke-free; before the end of the decade it was out of business and boarded up. At the other end of the spectrum, Atlantic City's newest megaresort, Revel, debuted with a non-smoking casino; it declared bankruptcy less than a year later.
While the smoke-free policy certainly can't be blamed for all of Revel's economic woes, as a PR consultant commented at the time: "Asking gamblers not to smoke is like asking expectant fathers not to pace. They go hand in hand." Hence, it was no big surprise that a month after the resort filed for Chapter 11 protection last February, it lifted its bold ban on smoking, shortly before it changed the name from the somewhat in-denial "Revel Resort" to "Revel Casino Hotel," launching a drive for business under the slogan, "Gamblers Wanted," (which could have been sub-titled, "Smokers Welcome.")
Still, while even the ban on smoking in bar-restaurants didn't stand the test of time in Las Vegas, that's not to say that the gambling world here hasn't evolved when it comes to creating more pleasant breathing environments and nicer-smelling accommodations. CityCenter prides itself on its and eco-friendly credentials and the hotel is completely non-smoking; while the casino is not, it does contain "smoke-free" pathways that are intended to grant non-smokers or the smoke-averse safe passage, by means of advanced air-filtration systems and careful casino layout, while dealers are protected from smoking players behind a high-tech "wall of air."
While poker long had the (not undeserved) image as being somewhat downer-and-dirtier than other gambling games, live poker rooms were in fact in the vanguard of banning smoking, and it's tough to find a room in Vegas that permits it these days. Similarly, even many bingo rooms are smoke-free, or fifty percent smokeless, while many casinos have at least one slot-machine area that does not permit smoking. It's usually possible to request that an individual table-game on the casino floor be made smoke-free, and some are maintained that way on a permanent basis.
We confess it's been a little while since we last completed a full survey, and your query has reminded us to revisit and update out data, but for now, here's a pretty good lay-of-the-land in terms of where to find smoke-free gaming opportunities in Las Vegas, which are more prevalent than you might think. In addition, our exclusive Las Vegas Green Hotel Guide lists those accommodations that are either entirely smokeless, or which make careful provision for non-smokers (and, in some instances, those with pet allergies) on designated floors.
Ironically, for anyone suffering from any kind of respiratory illness or sensitivity, these days it's as much the sweet-smelling perfumes they pump into the air system that cause problems to many guests, as it is the affects of the smoke that these aromas are (in part) designed to counteract.
As an interesting post script to this answer, back in June of this year we ran a Reader Poll canvassing people on whether or not they'd support a totally smoke-free casino; the voting results, and the additional email feedback we received, make for an interesting read.
