Vegas: Smoker's Paradise.

Here's a question, why the flying fuck in 2010 do I still gotta breathe some asstard's cigarette smoke inside a Las Vegas casino?

Ok, I know it's Vegas. Booze. Gambling. Smokers. Sin City, yeah, I got it. I can already hear people making the argument that if you're going to gamble and drink, why not allow smokers? Why not just allow heroin addicts and self-mutilators too, and pass out themed purge bowls for the anorexics while we're at it? I mean where does it stop?

Here's the thing, my money is worth just as much as a smoker's. Actually, my long-term business is worth more than most smokers because I will probably live longer, all else being equal. Hotels should be working harder to secure my business.

I can't believe nobody in Vegas has the forsight to make a non-smoking hotel WITH drinking and gambling. That is, exactly like any other hotel, just remove the smoking. The MGM Grand Signature and Rennaisance are non-smoking, but they've also removed the gambling! That is not the right solution for people like myself who actually like to gamble, and where gambling is one of the main attractions in Vegas.

Having a non-smoking hotel is great, and it's a step in the right direction, but don't remove the gambling you tardwits! That completely defeats the purpose! Without the gambling, I am not even setting foot in your hotel other than a quick tour if I happen to be nearby, so the MGM Grand Signature needs to re-think their strategy. That's like making a non-smoking strip club without any strippers...what is the god damned point? Developers, ignore the MGM Grand Signature's silly concept.

The niche here is to make a hotel exactly like any other, WITH drinking and WITH gambling, but without some god-damned smoker stinking up my area and destroying my health, forcing me to do 'smoker scans' before securing my place at a machine. Sure enough though, if some jacktard decides to light up, I get to play the 'find a smoke-free area' game again. We may as well just let the smokers run the place and force non-smokers to jump through hoops with David Copperfield while we're at it.

Smokers have the choice of every other casino in Vegas to pollute, so there should be a haven for those who aren't addicted to cigarettes. Imagine, if there was a non-smoking hotel, every non-smoker who hates breathing smoke would give them business at some point, and perhaps often. As a point of protest, I would even boycott the other hotels if ONE single developer had the sack (or ovaries) to make a non-smoking hotel WITH gambling and booze. I would stay at the non-smoking hotel and do the bulk of my gambling there and consider that a long-term home base for any future Vegas visits. In effect, I would be showing my approval with my Vegas dollars, and I believe others would do the same.

Think about it, whole states have banned smoking indoors. Smokers stil find their way to any establishment you can name. The smokers are the ones with the addiction, and THEY should be forced to deal with the discomfort of having to stop sucking on tar sticks long enough to lose a few bucks in a Wheel of Fortune machine.

One thing a non-smoking hotel could do is offer plush/themed smoking rooms for gamblers who need a smoke break. We're talking about rooms with separate air conditioning, separate air intakes/exhaust/ double-paned glass and a means to let the addicts get their fix without forcing the non-smokers into unwilling participation. Perhaps the entrances to these places would be secured too so smoke doesn't spill out into the casino proper. This way, a non-smoking hotel could be healthy and still allow the addicts to get their fix without forcing everyone else to be captive, unwitting secondhand smokers.

In November of 2006, Nevada voters passed the Clean Indoor Air Act, banning smoking in restaurants and wherever food is served. This also includes most indoor establishments apart from casino floors, oddly enough. Seeing this trend, developers need to be planning new, themed hotels on the strip with gambling and booze, but no smoking. It's going to happen, and Vegas developers may as well embrace it and make it happen now.

From now on, I am going to only stay at hotels which offer non-smoking gaming sections. When a non-smoking hotel opens up, I am going to show my approval with my dollars. I'll do my little part to support anyone with the foresight to open a non-smoking hotel, on the strip, while retaining the gambling and booze (I am not a big drinker, but I want the option).

Let's face it, smoking is fucking stupid and many smokers wish they could quit (as well as their friends and families). Cigarettes have known carcinogens and are responsible for more deaths than all other diseases combined and still cause hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths every year according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control).

Some of us come to Vegas because of the legal gambling, but that doesn't mean we want to gamble with our lives.

-dB-