Las Vegas Casino Bets on Smoke-Free Gaming as More Players Loathe Cigarette Stench

Las Vegas is getting another smoke-free casino.

The off-Strip Palms Casino Resort announced today (Aug. 12) that the property will soon offer players a fully enclosed gaming space free of cigarette and cigar smoke. The enclosure will feature 224 of the newest and most popular slot machines and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Guest feedback drives so much of what we do, and expanding our non-smoking gaming options is something we’ve heard consistently. This new space combines the latest games, a dedicated bar, and a new gaming experience to create an entirely new way to play at Palms,” said Kevin Glass, Palms Casino Resort general manager.

The smoke-free casino enclosure will open to the public on Monday, Aug. 24, followed by an official grand opening celebration featuring a celebrity charity slot tournament on Tuesday, Sept. 1. The Palms smoke-free casino is located near the William Hill Sportsbook and Tonic Bar.

Las Vegas Smoke-Free Casinos

Smoking rates are at their lowest levels ever in the U.S., but finding a smoke-free casino in Las Vegas remains challenging.

The only fully smoke-free casino on the Strip is Park MGM. In downtown Las Vegas, the Plaza Hotel & Casino offers a fully enclosed smoke-free gaming area, but the room features fewer than 100 machines.

MGM Resorts decided to make Park MGM the Strip’s first—and, to date, only—smoke-free casino resort after reopening the property on Sept. 30, 2020, following the state’s COVID-19 shutdown. The former Monte Carlo, Park MGM opened on May 9, 2018, following a $550 million renovation and rebranding.

Park MGM is MGM’s smallest of its nine casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, with the 66,000-square-foot gaming space featuring fewer than 800 slot machines and 60 table games.  

Charitable Opening

Palms Casino Resort is owned and operated by the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority (SMGHA), a division of the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. The smoke-free casino area will occupy 7,300 square feet of the casino’s total 95,000-square-foot footprint.

On Sept. 1, beginning at 4 p.m., Palms and slot manufacturer IGT will host the Spin It Forward Celebrity Charity Slot Challenge. The partners have designated 10 charitable organizations in Southern Nevada that will each receive $2,500 from SMGHA. Each beneficiary then has the option of taking another $1,000 from IGT, or having a designated celebrity play $1,000 in free slot play on the organization’s behalf in hopes of growing the contribution.

The participating charities include Heaven Can Wait Animal Society, UNLV Chapter of Advancing Indigenous Science & Engineering Society, Proud to Rescue Benevolent Fund, Southern Nevada Joint Management Culinary & Training Fund, S.A.F.E. House, PBS Southern Nevada, The Ability Center, Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada, Springs Preserve Foundation, and Teach For America Nevada.