One of the most enduring myths of Vegas is that casinos pump oxygen onto casino floors to keep players alert and increase their playing time. Could this be true or based partly in truth? And, if not, how did it start?
A persistent Las Vegas myth has casinos pumping oxygen onto their floors to keep players alert and playing.
“The rumor regarding the pumping of oxygen into casinos is not true,” Tony Cabot, distinguished fellow in gaming law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Casino.org.
For one, a typical Las Vegas casino contains 1 million cubic liters of air. To raise the oxygen level just a single percent would use more than 40,000 cubic meters of oxygen gas every day, an incredible expense, according to the Arizona heating, venting, and air conditioning company Parker & Sons.
More importantly, adding more oxygen would create a fire hazard because air with greater than the normal 21% oxygen is more of an accelerant, making any open flame burn hotter, faster, and at lower temperatures. The oxygen itself isn’t flammable.
A persistent Las Vegas myth has casinos pumping oxygen onto their floors to keep players alert and playing.
“The rumor regarding the pumping of oxygen into casinos is not true,” Tony Cabot, distinguished fellow in gaming law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Casino.org.
For one, a typical Las Vegas casino contains 1 million cubic liters of air. To raise the oxygen level just a single percent would use more than 40,000 cubic meters of oxygen gas every day, an incredible expense, according to the Arizona heating, venting, and air conditioning company Parker & Sons.
More importantly, adding more oxygen would create a fire hazard because air with greater than the normal 21% oxygen is more of an accelerant, making any open flame burn hotter, faster, and at lower temperatures. The oxygen itself isn’t flammable.