Vegas is Smokin’
by John Wilson
Vegas is smokin’, literally.
I was in Las Vegas this week for a convention in Caesar’s Palace. I had an outstanding room, ate great food, and had an enjoyable conference. I even got to meet Joe Montana. Tough to beat that.
I stayed in the brand new “Augustus Tower” of Caesars. It is on the southern most end of the complex (Caesar’s Palace is ginormous) with a beautiful view overlooking the fountains at the Bellagio.
The walk from the Augustus Tower to the convention ball rooms on the other end of the complex is a good 10 minute walk. On the first day of the conference I was walking toward the convention when a seedy looking guy started walking towards me smoking a cigarette. You can’t smoke cigarettes inside was the first thing that went through my mind (quickly followed by, why is this guy staring at me). I passed the guy and continued on to the convention, but I couldn’t shake the site of the cigarette in his hand.
I’m probably spoiled from living in cities with full indoor smoking bans. With all we know about the harm first and second hand smoke cause, I can’t believe people still smoke, period. Seeing people smoke indoors is entirely more foreign. Certain parts of Caesars (which I loved in whole) have very low ceilings, and you can feel the smoke burrowing into your pores. I’m also interested in if when people sit down and light up right beside someone obviously not smoking, do they feel self-conscience of their habit, or vindictive towards non-smokers who have taken over the rest of the nation?
Would a casino that disallowed smoking completely recognize a net gain or loss in gaming and food? I wonder if anyone has done this study? I would certainly sit longer and spend more if I was thinking about gaming and not about the sore throat I was getting from ingesting their bad habit.
Sound off below. Can casinos and other similar entities successfully market a non-smoking environment?
Picture credits: Superfantastic on Flickr
Check out http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100527/LETTERS/100529387 which gives some non-cited proof that non-smoking casinos can see an increase in revenue.
disagree. Las Vegas is one of the last places you can go and do what you want to do. If they take that away then waht is the point?
I think doing what you want has limitations if it harms other people. Properties like Caesars are big enough that they could have a smoking casino and a non-smoking casino. At the very least, give people a choice.
Caesar’s is big enough that it would be a great test bed. Have an equal set of tables and slots that are smoking and non, clearly label the difference, and see which one collects the most gaming dollars.
You’ll notice, for instance, that most of the higher end poker rooms in Vegas are going smoke free.