Question of the Day - 13 November 2024

Why couldn't the author restrain himself from posting a rant about smoking in casinos and just answer the question? I learned nothing from two days' worth of a parade of horribles about smoking. Clearly there are reasons why Vegas casinos almost all allow smoking, but one would not find out why in these two days of posts.

When I do stay on the Strip, Park MGM is my choice due to location, restaurants, and I do like the non-smoking environment.

This is all very interesting. From the casino's perspective, is it as simple as more smoking leads to more losing? I don't smoke cigarettes, but it seems there must be a correlation between smoking and gambling. Maybe, "Hell, I know smoking is bad. I know gambling is bad. But if I'm doing one, I'll just go all-in on making bad decisions."

2 days but no real answer. I'm just surprised at the slow progress, seems there should be more nonsmoking areas and even a nonsmoking Ceasars casino 

First, let me state I am a lifeline abstainer and would welcome a smoke free casino environment.  That said, while the number of smokers we see in casinos varies from region to region, it's always more than the 11-13% that David quotes.  I'm not questioning his sourcing of that information, what I'm saying that in our experience far more than 13% of the revenue generating patrons of casinos are smokers.  In our experience it's often even more than the 25% figure he received from Bally's.

Would they all keep coming if the casinos all went smoke free?  Maybe they would.  But I can understand why the casino executives would not want to test that theory.

When Canada went smoke free many downtown Toronto breakfast cafes bemoned the end of their businesses. They claimed people came in for a smoke & coffee as much as a plate of eggs. One business went so far as to claim it was a private members club and exempt from the rules. The cost to join was 1c and the dues were 1c added to every bill. Notices were posted that this was a smokers club and their health may be at risk but they wave this concern if they “choose” to join the club. It was brilliant. Until their business became 25% of what it was. In 6mths they got on board and relegated the smokers to an outdoor court yard  in the back. The law requires smokers to be a min of 3meters (10ft) from a door way or 9m (33ft) from a window or air intake.  Business can install an outdoor smoking shed but it can’t have a door or be completely enclosed even with hi tech ventilation or heaters. 

Are those saying the 2 days of answers gave no answer?  Might those who couldn't find answers be those who enjoy smoking in casinos?  Looking for reasons why smoking should continue to be allowed?

And I'll repeat something I posted in another thread:  If you want to play at a non-smoking TABLE (even if casino allows it), look for a table with no players, sit down to play and ask the dealer to make it non-smoking.  Dealer will ask the boss, boss most often will agree, remove ask trays and flip the switch to light the non-smoking icon on the screen.  If one or more are at the table, ask them if they mind making the table non-smoking.  Same thing if they agree.  Table will remain non-smoking until you leave and a smoker sits down, requests smoking.

Candy

Living in SE Michigan/Detroit suburbs, there are four nearby casinos.  I choose to patronize Caesars Windsor (across the border) primarily because it is non-smoking and the three casinos  in Detroit allow smoking.  I'm penalized by having to pay round trip tolls (tunnel or bridge) and having to convert my US dollars to Canadian dough-lers, but to me it's worth it.  The Caesars employees also seem friendlier/nicer, perhaps because they don't work in a smoke filled environment.

Disclaimer: I've been in the casino industry for a quarter century.

Back when you could smoke at the poker tables, the smokers would have an excellent tell.  And I always sat next to the dealer (non-smoking seats), and would have an excellent view of the smokers.

Was the +EV worth the second hand smoke?

When I ran poker rooms in the Seattle area, I made sure to have the waitresses go out of their way to clean yhe ashtrays.  Their tips went up considerably.


At the table games, many dealers would have a small fan to dissipate the smoke - not perfect, but helped immensely.

Some casinos have such an excellent air circulation system that it's tough to tell if anyone is smoking.  (The El Cortez does not have this feature.)

But the common denominator of dislike of smokers were the cigar smokers.

The potency of the smoke is almost universally too much to bear.  No amount of circulation would help.

That's the key - dissipating the smoke.

But I still don't like it..

I see A LOT of younger people vaping these days.  It might be because it's not considered the same thing as smoking cigarettes but it has the amount of tobacco I believe (unless they're smoking...something else)  One person I spoke to said it's better for the environment because you don't need an ashtray and you don't need to throw away cigarette butts.  Like that's what people are concerned about.

I am not a smoker except for an occasional cigar. There is virtually no indoor smoking in this country. Please stop the rant because you don’t get 100% of your demands. 

Wow, the author truly is a bitter person.  Plenty of these types ran rampant in CA during the COVID fiasco.  They just love to tell others how to live their lives under the threat of fines, imprisonment or worse.  

These nanny-state types fail to recognize that there are plenty of us regular Vegas vacationers who don’t have to smoke but like to have the option to smoke if we want to.  We book smoking rooms for that reason and others.  Maybe we just want to avoid the $250.00 dollar cleaning fee for firing up a weed vape.  The point is there are enough of us with decent enough budgets and we come to Nevada for the freedoms that you still have.  For example; Brothels, 24/7 Bars, Sports Betting, Low Fee Camping, Off-Roading, Machine Gun Shooting and yes Smoking in Casinos and Slot Lounge Bars.  Smoking room availability is a one key reason I would always choose South Point over Park MGM.  

Vegas is big enough to accommodate all tourists including smokers and the smoke sensitive.

I was thinking about this very issue, the other day, while at the casino, in Indiana, near Cincinnati. To get to the main casino area one must walk through what can only be described as a cigarette smoke Gauntlet. The casino in Cincinnati keeps smokers outside.

I should have written; smokers are kept outside, while smoking. : )

Keep up the good fight David!
Why should we the majority have to suffer for the minority. The smokers can go outside.

Read an article last week that said the soon to be New York casinos, will be required to be smoke free 👏👏👏👏

I don't believe for one minute that the national rate of smoking is only 11%-13%. Utah and California used to be the only 2 states below that range; the overwhelming majority of states were higher than that. The last study I heard of (though it might have been 1 year or more ago) was 19%-21% for the national average. You have to remember that smoking, like dislike of Black people, is part of life among White people in the South. Southern states always have the highest rates of smoking, and there just isn't a vibe in the South to push people away from smoking, like there is in progressive states like California. Although the author said high-income people (and high-income gamblers) smoke at a low rate, low-income people (and low-income gamblers, who comprise a large part of Vegas patronage) smoke at a rate that's higher than average. That pairs with less-educated people (and thus less-educated gamblers) smoking more than average; these folks also comprise a lot of Vegas' patronage.

The author insinuated that we should only be patronizing Park MGM because it's the only nonsmoking casino in Vegas. "If you’re in Nevada and you’re not patronizing Park MGM exclusively, you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution." I disagree that I (a vehement nonsmoker) am part of the problem. You can say that I (and most people) are not effectuating a cure to the problem by not patronizing Park MGM exclusively, but you can't say that we're part of the problem, because the problem was there before I ever set foot in a casino. I go to Vegas to play video poker, and to be in nostalgic downtown, so my casinos are there. Park MGM doesn't have as good video poker, and I don't care for the Strip. I would not sacrifice what I like (and surely lose more money) just to hopefully help create more nonsmoking environments in Vegas casinos. I go to Vegas to enjoy myself by being where I want to be, playing what I want to play, and doing so where it's financially better than Park MGM.

The Caesars casino in Pompano Park is smoke free.  They have a separate room that is for smokers.  Every time I go there (I live in CA, but in FL 3 or 4 times a year) the room is virtually empty. It is a state casino, so table games are not house banked, but no smoking there either, and dealers do not wear masks.  In Vegas, I wear a mask, a good one, to try to keep as much of the smoke as I can out of my lungs.  I hate the smell, and the mask really helps. Cannot count the times I am sitting at a table or slot, and someone sits next to me and chain smokes.  I do not know how the dealers that do not smoke handle it.  The little fans they use really does not do much, and wearing a mask all day is not comfortable. 

Also no mention of how IL is still hurting from the smoking ban here compared to Indiana and Missouri. Very pick and chose with the stats.