After getting sick on her last Las Vegas sojourn, a smoke-sensitive tourist bets her scarred lungs (and psyche) on a statewide smoking ban and high-tech casino-ventilation systems.
Jump to full article: Seattle (WA) Times, 2008-07-06
Author: Sandy Dunham Special to The Seattle Times
Intro: In the casino realm, though, gambling and smoke go together like showgirls and sequins. And while Luvisutto predicts "it's only a matter of time" before Vegas casinos adopt their own smoking ban, in the meantime they're concentrating on protecting the health of their employees — and their customers.
For example, all poker rooms in the 10 MGM-Mirage hotels — running the gambling gamut from Bellagio to Circus Circus — are nonsmoking, said Cindy Ortega, MGM-Mirage's senior vice president of energy and environmental services. "They were the first in the city, and we had assumed people were going to complain, but there were not any complaints registered at all," she said.
The company also emphasizes "pathing," so nonsmokers can go around, rather than through, casino floors, Ortega said. And at Bellagio, they're testing a system called Air Rail that creates an "air curtain" through the gaming table to shield the dealer from smoke. . . .
Sounds promising, but the proof is in the proboscis. So I inhaled some of the Strip's newer casinos (Handel specifically mentioned the Wynn Las Vegas, Bellagio, Palazzo Las Vegas, the Venetian and Mandalay Bay), along with some old standbys for comparison. . . .
here is my completely nonscientific scent-o-smoke scale, from 1 cigarette (quite tolerable) to 5 (Run away! Run away!):
(4 cigs) MGM Grand: We approached the casino from the shops — and were stopped by a sudden, unmistakable wall of smoke about 100 feet from the entrance. We turned around.
(2 cigs) Wynn Las Vegas: Not bad at all around the casino edges, though it did thicken deeper in. Blasts of fresh air from the restaurants lining the perimeter give you a little breathing room, and my mom and aunts said they felt mysterious but welcome "puffs" of refreshing air at their slot machines every now and then.
(1 cig) The Palazzo Las Vegas . . .
(5 cigs) Caesars Palace: Et tu, Vegas landmark? This was the worst casino of all, even at 11 a.m. . . .
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