Question of the Day - 27 November 2019

We answered this question way back in 2007 by asking the Chief of the Enforcement Division at the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Here's what he had to say then, which we're sure hasn't changed since.

The answer is a combination of a few common-sense factors.

First, the airport has never applied 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 having your plane take off without you.

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.

The airport is in the business of 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. But that's the closest table games would ever get to Terminals 1 and 3.

Here's your link to the new poll on what will never happen in Las Vegas.