Has Marijuana Had Any Impact on Gambling Revenue?

What's the "conventional wisdom" among Vegas suits of the impact on gambling revenue (i.e., impaired judgment and decision-making) due to legalized pot consumption?

We asked a suit, who wishes to remain anonymous.

"Pot hasn't been as much a factor as I thought it would be," the casino executive tells us. "The casino is still private property and they still have rules against it. That said, people are certainly more liberal about carrying it around and lighting up. Late-night weekends, the familiar fumes are often noticeable on the casino floor. I'm sure it has something to do with the nightclub crowd," he adds.

One ancillary situation is that Caesars Entertainment recently announced that they wouldn't be testing for pot as part of their employment requirements. We believe they're the first to announce such a policy revision.

As far as an actual impact on the bottom line, we haven't heard anything and frankly, we can't imagine that any impact it might have would be measurable -- unless it has something to do with the recent drop in gaming revenues. Pot has never been the drug of choice for casino gamblers; alcohol has. And pot smokers have never been known for casino gambling.

We asked one pothead-slash-gambler of our acquaintance if he'd ever indulged in Popeye's "spinach" (what? You really thought he was smoking spinach in his corncob pipe?) and tried to play a casino game. He said, "Yes. Once. As an experiment a couple years ago right after recreational pot was voted in by the Nevada electorate.

"It might've been me, but either way, it was a disaster.

"I first tried blackjack, but it took me an extra few moments to total up my cards. And once I knew what I held, I couldn't remember much about basic strategy. I can't even imagine being stoned and dividing the running count by the number of remaining decks to come up with the true count.

"Then I tried craps, but that felt like the world was moving at fifty miles an hour and I was lagging a bit -- like I'd catch up in a few days.

"Finally, I thought slots might be more my speed. But all the spinning and lights and noise made me sick to my stomach. I had to leave the casino and sit in the car for a while till the world and I got into sync again."

Admittedly, this is a sample of only one, but our guy has 40 years' experience with pot and 30 years with gambling. And it goes to show that the two don't mix very well.

On the other hand, we're sure that plenty of people enjoy going to the casino with a pot buzz percolating.

The one thing we could say about the suits in the question was that other than alcohol, which they give away free left and right, the bosses have always been anti-drug, from pot to the hard stuff. Money spent on dope can’t be spent on gambling.

On the other hand, now that recreational cannabis is legal, a new breed of casino boss is taking a closer look. We've heard through the grapevine that some casino supervisors, and many security officers, would much rather deal with stoners than lushers. Also, with the pot-lounge issue needing a resolution, the casinos are starting to see them as yet another amenity they can offer to get people through the door (and, presumably, into the buffet).

Of course, federal law and state gaming regulations would need to change to allow lounges in casinos. But it all goes to show that eventually, if not quite yet, we'll start seeing at least some impact from hippie lettuce on the casino-industries bottom line.

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jstewa22 Nov-11-2018

need more data

I think the big, unanswered question is how pot will affect how people gamble.  Will it be disinhibiting like alcohol (something that Benny Binion realized when he made the bold move of comping alcohol to low-rollers)?  Will it erode skill?  Will it make people play faster or slower?  Will people simply stay in their rooms?  We all have our guesses, but if I were running a casino I'd want some hard data.

Dave Nov-11-2018

Munchies

 Perhaps a good source of data for implied pot usage would be to track if there’s been an uptick in sales of snack foods at the gift shop and candy/snack machines, and most importantly, in the hotel room honor bars.

Jackie Nov-11-2018

Drugs???

Sorry, but alcohol is a drug but since it is "legal" doesn't mean it should be in a casino.  I've seen way to many alcoholics and just mean drunks in my life to ever be able to fathom the logic of it being served in a casino other than sheer greed.  Casino employees take an unnecessary beating and abuse from drunkards. Of course the nicotine addicts puffing away as fast as pushing a slot button should be getting comped cigarettes as per your recent survey showed they were a preferred customer.  Let's not forget the free coffee and soda for the caffeine addicts to stay awake longer so sleepiness won't tell them to leave the slot machines.  So the question becomes "Are casinos for gambling or a drug emporium with the gambling as a disguised method of paying for the drugs?"

Loyd Vegas Nov-11-2018

Loyd Vegas

Why all of a sudden all these topics about pot? I think most people on here including me come on here for Vegas info and to not here about weed. Enough already!

O2bnVegas Nov-11-2018

too complicated

I'd guess that any attempt to restrict casino pot smoking would run into enough complexities as to make it untenable.  Recreational or medical, and how about those vapor systems which do contain nicotine?  Similarly to cigarette smoking, which is well known to cause serious health problems (including those from second hand smoke), it would be a mess to try to police it, other than making the entire casino no smoking (of any kind), or creating non-smoking areas. 

For hotel rooms, that might be a different story.  Smoking of any type eventually damages walls and fabrics (draperies, carpet, bedding, sofas, etc.).  No smoking on certain floors is already policy in many hotels, including charging the guest if smoking in a room is detected during or after departure.  Perhaps the same with pot.  How long does pot odor hang around in textiles?

Kevin Lewis Nov-11-2018

Who would you rather deal with...

Someone who is drunk or someone who is stoned? No contest. If alcohol is legal and its consumption is tolerated, marijuana should be treated the same way. Given that casinos serve "free" alcohol to turn their customers' brains into cottage cheese, I think they should start handing out free pot, with the same objective.

I intend to start learning to play pot limit Hold 'Em very soon. I wonder how much pot you need to buy in?

Roy Furukawa Nov-11-2018

Cosmo Must Be Booming

I am absolutely sure Cosmo is the choice for clubbing pot smokers because they allow smoking out on their room balconies even though the room may be a non-smoking room. Just don't smoke inside the room and they have no problem with smokers.

Gramps Nov-12-2018

one more issue

The trouble with smoking pot in a casino while playing, is the person next to you could get a contact buzz. Then if his job drug tests him he could be fired and banned from the property or properties that the company owns. You can sit down next to a person drinking and no matter how many beers or other alcoholic drinks he consumes, you won't get drunk. Now, you may have to put up with his bullshit, but if it gets to bad security will escort him out and I have seen this happen.

Question of the Day - 11 November 2018

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