Ask the Slot Expert: Dealing with slot players who smoke in the non-smoking section

It really ticks me off when I’m in the "No Smoking" section of the casino and people are smoking. My question is what do you do when someone is smoking near you? I’m not the type of person to go over to them and politely point out that they are in a "No Smoking" section when signs are plastered everywhere.

Should I ask a cocktail waitress to say something to them (not likely to happen-tips)?

What’s proper etiquette/procedure to handle this?

Love your column-always interesting…

Thanx,
Dennis

Dear Dennis,

Thanks for the kind words about my column.

I think the proper procedure in this case is that someone with authority in the casino should ask the smoking player to either stop smoking or move to the smoking section. It can be tough to find casino employees on the slot floor now that there are no more change people, so I would grab anyone I could find. Point out the smoker and ask if anything can be done. I think this makes it clear that you're not expecting them to deal with the player, but you do want the casino's procedures for dealing with the situation to begin.

Many, many years ago I pointed out a player smoking in the non-smoking section. I was told that the non-smoking section was just a suggestion and that the casino would not enforce it. I hope no casinos have the same policy today.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.