How many casinos are there now in Las Vegas?

How advanced are the ventilation systems used in Las Vegas casinos?

• Smoking is permitted in casinos of Las Vegas. How effective are the ventilation in removing odors from the air so that the cigarette smoke does not accumulate rapidly?

• Answer:

  Typically only the newest casinos offer advanced technology for air management. Older casinos are cursed having been built a long time ago before smoking was known to be as dangerous as it is. I often hear employees complaining about smelling like smoke after a shift on a casino floor. I'm not 100% up on the science but a lot of large buildings are built with forced air systems from the ceilings. Air velocity and temperature send the air downward to the floor space in an attempt to make it comfortable. This same feature also tends to send the smoke back down until it can finally hit a return duct and be cleaned. A couple of new casinos have been using raised floor for not only their technology needs but also routing mechanical - like air handling. These are a lot more energy efficient - requiring lower duct temps because the air comes out where it's needed, on the floor. I've also heard them discuss it creates an "air inversion layer" higher above the guest heads which allows the smoke to filter away from the guest floor. In Vegas, the newer casinos like City Center and Cosmo tend to have better air but that's just an opinion, not a fact based analysis. From a quick Google search: • Bellagio designates some gaming areas, including the poker room as non-smoking. They evaluate each pit in the casino and make adjustments day-to-day for nonsmokers. • Harrah’s has a 1,000 square foot non-smoking gaming section, which includes reel slots, video poker machines, blackjack and roulette tables. • MGM Grand offers nonsmoking gaming tables and a designated nonsmoking slots section in the main casino. I just finished projects in Ohio which does not allow smoking inside and those casinos are smoke free as they are in Maryland. As gaming emerges in other states, existing laws will restrict smoking. It's not going to happen in Sin City Vegas anytime soon.