{"id":1500,"date":"2020-09-17T15:07:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T22:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/?p=1500"},"modified":"2023-08-05T14:49:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T21:49:37","slug":"park-mgm-takes-gamble-on-nonsmoking-casino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/park-mgm-takes-gamble-on-nonsmoking-casino\/","title":{"rendered":"Park MGM Takes Gamble on Nonsmoking Casino"},"content":{"rendered":"

Park MGM announced on Monday that the property will reopen on September 30. There were rumors, backed up by a picture of a sign<\/a>, that Park MGM would be nonsmoking when it reopened.<\/p>\n

At the time, the NBA and NHL were looking for bubble cities. One educated guess was that Park MGM was being held off the market to accommodate teams if that happened. It never materialized.<\/p>\n

This marks the first time a major Las Vegas Strip casino became entirely nonsmoking. Silver City Casino tried it for a few months in 1991.<\/p>\n

\"\"MGM Resorts already expanded nonsmoking areas<\/h3>\n

MGM Resorts rolled out special nonsmoking sections at its Las Vegas casinos upon reopening after the pandemic closures. I have not noticed any changes that make me think there has been a problem. For example, the entire Mirage poker room was converted into a nonsmoking slots area.<\/p>\n

It must be going well enough for MGM Resorts to open an entirely smoke-free resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The free publicity alone may be worth it.<\/p>\n

Success of nonsmoking properties across country<\/h3>\n

There has been mixed success across the country when casinos voluntarily go nonsmoking in a jurisdiction. The most publicized example was Revel in Atlantic City. It opened as a nonsmoking casino and later opened smoking areas. While Revel eventually failed, the smoking policy does not seem like it played a part.<\/p>\n

Palace Casino in Biloxi went nonsmoking upon reopening after Hurricane Katrina. It continues to be the only nonsmoking casino in the market. The company has always stated publicly that it had a positive impact on the property.<\/p>\n

Ho-Chunk Casino in Madison, Wisconsin went nonsmoking in 2015<\/a>. It remains that way to this day.<\/p>\n

Park MGM is different from market wide smoking bans<\/h3>\n

Park MGM is making a decision like the others mentioned above. That gives it a niche other casinos in the market do not cover.<\/p>\n

Nearly all nonsmoking casinos in the country do it because local or state law requires it. This has not always turned out well in terms of gaming revenues. The St. Louis Federal Reserve noted in 2009<\/a> that an Illinois statewide smoking ban that covered casinos lowered gaming revenues as smokers drove to border casinos in other states. The same stories were reported out of Colorado, Montana and South Dakota.<\/p>\n

It was time for a casino to take this gamble<\/h3>\n

I thought a Las Vegas casino would have tried this five to ten years ago. I figured the first would be a more upscale locals casino. However, it makes sense that a major Strip company would give it a go. It has far less to lose as customers can choose one of its other properties, most within walking distance, if the patron is a smoker. There is less risk if a player can just go to the casino next door as opposed to one in a different neighborhood.<\/p>\n

I suspect this will not be the last Las Vegas casino to go nonsmoking. However, I think it will come from the company making the decision. I feel strongly that a casino smoking ban does not have enough support in Nevada to become the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Park MGM announced on Monday that the property will reopen on September 30. There were rumors, backed up by a picture of a sign, that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"yes","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[91,62],"tags":[99],"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":[],"modified_by":"John Mehaffey","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20200611_100749-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9QI6N-oc","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1320,"url":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/status-of-closed-las-vegas-casinos\/","url_meta":{"origin":1500,"position":0},"title":"Status of Closed Las Vegas Casinos","author":"John Mehaffey","date":"July 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Las Vegas casinos were permitted to reopen on June 4, 2020. There were 61 Las Vegas casino reopenings that day. A total of 25 remained closed. Nine of those properties reopened later with 16 still shuttered as of July 24, 2020. The list below details what is known about the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Las Vegas"","block_context":{"text":"Las Vegas","link":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/category\/las-vegas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Park MGM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20200611_100749-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20200611_100749-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20200611_100749-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20200611_100749-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20200611_100749-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1505,"url":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/three-las-vegas-casinos-reopen\/","url_meta":{"origin":1500,"position":1},"title":"Three Las Vegas Casinos Reopen","author":"John Mehaffey","date":"September 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"There were three Las Vegas casino reopenings within 24 hours this week. On Wednesday, Oyo opened at 11am. That was followed by Tropicana and Rainbow Club opening this morning at 10am. None of these properties had the fanfare that earlier reopenings enjoyed. Tropicana is open, but with limited table game\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Las Vegas"","block_context":{"text":"Las Vegas","link":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/category\/las-vegas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"High Limit at Tropicana Las Vegas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tropicana1.jpg?fit=1200%2C816&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tropicana1.jpg?fit=1200%2C816&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tropicana1.jpg?fit=1200%2C816&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tropicana1.jpg?fit=1200%2C816&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tropicana1.jpg?fit=1200%2C816&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1419,"url":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/status-of-closed-las-vegas-poker-rooms\/","url_meta":{"origin":1500,"position":2},"title":"Status of Closed Las Vegas Poker Rooms","author":"John Mehaffey","date":"August 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"There were 31 Las Vegas poker rooms in March before the COVID-19 pandemic closure. Of those, 14 have reopened. The list below covers the 17 that have yet to return to action. None are considered permanently closed by the companies that operate them. Two have reopening dates. See also: Open\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Las Vegas"","block_context":{"text":"Las Vegas","link":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/category\/las-vegas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Excalibur poker","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/excaliburpoker.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/excaliburpoker.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/excaliburpoker.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/excaliburpoker.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/excaliburpoker.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":458,"url":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/circus-circus-is-not-mgms-cash-cow\/","url_meta":{"origin":1500,"position":3},"title":"Circus Circus Is Not MGM’s Cash Cow","author":"John Mehaffey","date":"October 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"MGM Resorts entered into a sales agreement for Circus Circus with Phil Ruffin today. The sale price is $825 million. One misconception that always seems to surface when Circus Circus hits the news that it was some sort of cash cow for MGM Resorts. That simply is not accurate. Circus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Casino Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Casino Spotlight","link":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/category\/casino-spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Circus Circus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20201119_155706_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20201119_155706_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20201119_155706_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20201119_155706_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1392,"url":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/mirage-reopening-trip-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":1500,"position":4},"title":"Mirage Reopening Trip Report","author":"John Mehaffey","date":"August 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mirage opened at 10am this morning, August 27. It had the same welcome committee that other MGM Resorts casinos had when first welcoming guests back after the COVID-19 closure. https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mehaffey_KM\/status\/1299034491428585472 Kristina and I entered from the parking deck. A security guard blocked the bridge until 10am. We arrived a couple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Las Vegas"","block_context":{"text":"Las Vegas","link":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/category\/las-vegas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mirage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200827_102900-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200827_102900-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200827_102900-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200827_102900-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200827_102900-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1461,"url":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/mgm-resorts-announces-m-life-tier-matching\/","url_meta":{"origin":1500,"position":5},"title":"MGM Resorts Announces M life Tier Matching","author":"John Mehaffey","date":"September 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"MGM Resorts will now match tiers from competing casinos in its M life program through December 31, 2020. M life is the players club operated by MGM Resorts. It is accepted at all company properties across the country. In Las Vegas, these locations include Aria, Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Casino Promotions"","block_context":{"text":"Casino Promotions","link":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/category\/casino-promotions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MGM Grand Las Vegas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200413_144744-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200413_144744-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200413_144744-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200413_144744-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20200413_144744-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1500"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4172,"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500\/revisions\/4172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vegasadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}