Nestled between the Aria and New York-New York, Park MGM is the only truly smoke-free casino in Las Vegas. (Image: SV / Alamy)

So much in Sin City has changed even since my first visit 10 years ago. Three flashy new resorts added, the loss of Tropicana and Mirage, the decline of buffets, the legalization of weed, the list goes on.

However, despite this constant modernization, new developments and upgrades, one element of Las Vegas casinos that stubbornly refuses to budge is the issue of smoking.

That is genuinely quite strange, because Vegas has always gone with the trends before. You only need to look at the move from themed resorts to contemporary ones to see that. And the trend is that the US has seen a significant decline in citizens who smoke, helped at least in part by the annual Great American Smokeout campaign every November.

According to Gallup trends, cigarette smoking in the U.S. is at an 80-year low in 2024 with only 11% of US adults saying they have smoked cigarettes in the previous week. When you compare this to the same data collected in 1944, the figure was 41%.

Almost all of the casinos in Las Vegas, though, still allow smoking, and in the process they force secondhand smoke to the majority to serve the minority.

So why is this? What is being done about it? And where do you go if you want some smoke-free gambling in Las Vegas? We’ll give you the lowdown.

Why Do Most Las Vegas Casinos Allow Smoking?

Smoking in casinos is a more contentious issue than you might think. Certainly in Las Vegas anyway.

There are three main stakeholders involved – casinos, casino-workers and casino gamblers.

Despite mounting pressure to become smoke-free, evidence shows that Vegas casinos owners not only want to continue to allow smoking, but they aren’t even willing to discuss it.

In June of this year, Nonprofit health care company Trinity Health joined up with Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation (ANRF) to propose commissioning research on the subject of smoking in casinos.

Their proposition was that smoking might actually cost casinos more money, with regard to higher employee health insurance premiums, higher maintenance costs and alienating customers who don’t want to breathe secondhand smoke while they gamble.

The boards of directors at Caesars, Bally's and Boyd were so opposed to even the research being conducted, that they actively fought to keep the proposals from being distributed to shareholders. When it was allowed, they unanimously voted against it.

The results were conclusive, too. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings from all three gaming companies, between 70-85% of shareholders voted against the study.

Remember, this isn’t a vote on whether they should allow smoking or not, it’s simply a vote on a potential smoking study to get data. If nothing else, it shows just how entrenched smoking appears to be with Las Vegas casinos. And of course, it can only be linked to the bottom line.

Not only do a lot of gamblers smoke, but allowing players to smoke keeps them in the casino for longer. If players stopped playing at regular intervals to take smoke breaks, casinos know there is less chance of them returning.

Just this past September, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights tried to spark a new conversation by asking the Nevada Gaming Commission to consider casino exemptions to indoor smoking ban at odds with stated commitments to responsible gambling. 

Is this just a Las Vegas issue?

Absolutely not. In fact, a very public debate has been going on in Atlantic City on this exact issue for the past four years.

The current New Jersey laws ban indoor smoking in every workplace except for casinos. So, casino workers campaigned to get the law changed and when that was unsuccessful they filed a lawsuit which was denied in August this year. They are hoping to take it to the Supreme Court next.

The difference between Atlantic City and Las Vegas is that smoking is currently only allowed on 25% of the casino floor in AC.

The Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) group argues that the 25% is not contained and they are still at risk from secondhand smoke, while the casinos argue it would lead to loss of revenue and loss of jobs if banned entirely. It will be interesting to watch how this further develops.

As well as Nevada and New Jersey, similar movements are taking place with casino workers in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Michigan and Virginia at the time of writing all led by CEASE. 

Where can I gamble smoke-free in Las Vegas?

I’d be lying if I said you were spoilt for choice, but you do have options.

Of course, many of the Las Vegas resorts do offer smoke-free hotels and sportsbooks already but we’re specifically looking at the casinos below.

Smoke-free Casinos in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip: Park MGM

This is the one fully smoke-free casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Smoking is prohibited on the casino floor, throughout the Park MGM hotel, and also at the Nomad hotel which occupies the top few floors.

Park MGM deliberately set themselves up as a non-smoking casino to stand out from the crowd and attract gamblers looking for a clean-air gaming environment. It certainly doesn’t appear to have affected their bottom line, in fact, it’s their USP.

With a casino floor of around 102,00 square feet containing over 1000 slots and 60 table games, there’s plenty to enjoy here for gamblers.

Downtown Las Vegas: The Plaza (Brian Christopher Slots)

Although the main Plaza casino allows smoking, the separate Brian Christopher Slots zone is completely smoke-free. 

Christopher is the highly popular slots vlogger who by 2023 was only shooting video of his slots play at non-smoking casinos. That left his options in Las Vegas limited, until he partnered with the Plaza, which agreed to go at least partially smoke-free.

This BC Slots area is in an entirely different part of the resort and is self-contained so no secondary smoke can pass through.

The good news for slots players is that there’s around 45-50 games to choose from. However, it doesn’t have table games, so table players can’t play smoke-free unfortunately.

Casinos with smoke-free areas

On the Las Vegas Strip, both Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand have small smoke-free areas on the main casino floor.

Mandalay Bay’s smoke-free slots section is located beside the BetMGM Sportsbook. It only contains around 20 slots and the area isn't closed off, so secondary smoke is still a possibility. The Bet MGM Sportsbook is smoke-free too.

Meanwhile the MGM Grand smoke-free slots area is so hard to find, you might not even know you’re in it. If you enter the casino from the New York-New York walkway, it’s the first section of slots on your left-hand side.

I only found it as I was playing there when a fellow gambler who was smoking got asked to leave. Turns out neither of us knew we were in the non-smoking zone. As this is open plan, secondary smoke isn’t eliminated. However, MGM Grand’s layout does mean it’s a cleaner environment to gamble in.

Off-Strip, a few casinos have shown they are more willing to provide some non-smoking respites on their gaming floors. Tuscany Suites, Red Rock Casino and Sunset Station all offer smoke-free areas. Out of those, Red Rock is probably the biggest and has a mix of old and modern slots as well as video poker.

The Virgin Hotels Las Vegas casino used to have a non-smoking slots salon, but somewhere along the way the no-smoking signs were replaced with ashtrays. 

Not Smoke-free, but Less Smoky Casinos

Ok, so although it appears like I’m clutching at straws here, there are actually some Las Vegas casinos that use design features and specific technology in order to reduce the amount of smoke on the casino floor.

Tall ceilings, wide access areas, ventilation, and air filtration systems are used by some casinos to make their gaming environments more comfortable.

Aria is a classic example of this, as when it opened in 2009, it was one of the world’s most technologically advanced resorts. That included an enhanced air filtration system to reduce smoke on the casino floor. Plus, blackjack tables had built-in air curtains to expel air and serve as a barrier to protect dealers from smoke.

You can generally tell the difference when gambling at a casino that has these features over those that don’t. For example, gambling at Wynn, Aria and Cosmopolitan is a lot more comfortable in terms of ventilation than gambling at Caesars Palace, Treasure Island or Circus Circus.

It’s important to point out that even though it might feel less smoky, The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has proclaimed that existing filtration technology cannot and will not eliminate the dangerous particles in cigarette smoke.

Where Can I Gamble Smoke-free in the US

Smoking restrictions vary depending on which state you live in. The majority of US states have banned all indoor smoking, including inside casinos, which is great news for those who want to gamble in smoke-free surroundings. It’s even better news for the casino workers.

However, some states have statewide bans, but with exceptions for certain workplaces or establishments such as casinos and private clubs. Nevada and New Jersey are obviously on this list, as are Indiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee among others. 

This is how these states are still able to offer smoking in casinos despite prohibiting it elsewhere. 

According to the BreatheEasy campaign there are currently at least 1,068 US casinos and gaming properties that are 100% smoke free. It’s no surprise that the vast majority of them are in fully smoke-free states.