On the Las Vegas Strip, all vices seem to have been accepted.
Of course, gambling is a very popular activity, while the Strip has become one of the culinary centers of the world. Visitors can enjoy dishes created by the most famous chefs and/or eat the most exquisite fast food.
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You can't legally hire a prostitute on the Las Vegas Strip, but billboards hanging from trucks advertise “escorts.” It's a bit of a wild phrase, but even if you don't want to break the law, there's no shortage of risqué shows on the Strip.
Marijuana has been legalized in Nevada, and there are dispensaries everywhere (though technically none on the Strip). You can only legally smoke marijuana in private residences and consumption lounges that are currently being built.
As you might expect, that limit hasn't stopped people from smoking marijuana in public, and the police won't arrest anyone for doing so. Let's just say this is a consequence of the fact that Las Vegas is one of the few places on the planet where smoking is still allowed.
Casinos, at least those in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, operate with an exception to the smoking rules that apply to bars and restaurants. They may have non-smoking areas, but aside from MGM Resorts International's MGM Park, (MGM) All casinos on the Las Vegas Strip allow smoking.
However, Caesars Entertainment, MGM, Wynn and other operators have quietly made another major change to their smoking policy.
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Smoking remains a controversy on the Las Vegas Strip
Smoking and gambling appear to go hand in hand, and major operators on the Las Vegas Strip have staunchly resisted efforts to ban smoking in their casinos.
At the same time, a poll released in April showed that a majority of Nevadans support banning smoking in casinos.
“By a nearly 20-point margin, Nevada voters support making all Nevada workplaces, including casinos, 100 percent smoke-free indoors, even after hearing an expected barrage of opposition arguments,” according to the study, released by the Nevada Tobacco Control and Smoke Freedom Coalition.
“A clear majority – 58% – of Nevada voters support a potential law, while only 39% of Nevada voters oppose such a law.”
Major casino operators have opposed the smoking ban, saying it will hurt their revenues and cost people their jobs.
However, several reports show that even with better ventilation and air filtration systems, secondhand smoke puts workers at risk.
“As ventilation experts have repeatedly said, there is no ventilation system that can protect the health of workers and guests in casinos,” said Cynthia Hallett, executive director of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.
Las Vegas Strip resorts make key decision on smoking
While smoking remains legal and perhaps encouraged in casinos on the Strip, Las Vegas' largest casino operators have gradually phased out smoking rooms in their hotels.
MGM has not offered smoking rooms for more than a decade, while Caesars began phasing them out during Covid, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal Magazine.
To reserve one of the remaining smoking rooms at a Caesars property other than Caesars Palace, guests must call. Online reservations are no longer possible.
“Online reservation systems for Wynn/Encore, Venetian/Palazzo, Resorts World, Fontainebleau, Sahara, Circus Circus and The Strat do not offer smoking rooms,” the paper reported.
“As with everything in Las Vegas, nothing is completely impossible if you know who to ask and how to ask. All of these casinos have smoking rooms on designated floors in their hotels.”
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While these companies are fighting for smoking in casinos, they want to limit it in their hotel rooms for cost reasons. It is more expensive to clean a room where someone smokes, and non-smokers generally do not want to book such rooms.
Keeping smoking legal in the casino benefits the company, while limiting it in hotel rooms has the same effect. Worker safety does not appear to be a major factor in either situation.
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