Do Casinos Pump Oxygen?
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Written by Jack Jones - Google +
There is a popular myth out there that the casinos in Las Vegas pump oxygen through the air conditioning system to enrich the air. The theory behind this is that the oxygen keeps you from sleeping as long and therefore you will be more inclined to gamble your money away.
However, this is an old urban legend that doesn’t have any real fact behind it. What comes to mind every time I hear this rumor are the three Apollo astronauts who died when a small spark combined with oxygen ignited their space capsule creating one of NASA’s worst disasters.
According to my a Captain at the local Fire Department, “pumping oxygen into a casino would be a tremendous fire hazard that would greatly increase the flammability of all other objects. Any small fire, anywhere in the hotel, would be fanned and magnify itself by pumped oxygen.” As for the risk/reward opportunity, no casino would ever entertain the thought.
Of course that doesn’t mean the casino doesn’t have its share of tricks to part bettors from their cash. Casinos spend tens of thousands of dollars each year studying whether scents, interior design (yes, even that gaudy carpeting) or trying to keep light off the foreheads of customers-which is draining on them from an energy standpoint-will make players stay and play more. If somehow a casino could figure out how to keep each and every patron playing just five more minutes a night, it would add millions to a casino’s gross each year.
Now back to this ridiculous rumor of pumping oxygen. It does have a starting point. I believe ground zero comes from Mario Puzo’s book, Fools Die, where the practice of pumping oxygen was written by Puzo regarding the mythical Las Vegas casino Xanadu. I guess your friend translated this fictional work into reality, but hey, Colin, maybe casinos one day will try decreasing the oxygen to disorient the players even more than they already are.
6 Responses to “Do Casinos Pump Oxygen?”
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your captains an idiot i don’t have any knowledge of the fact but it wont do any fanning its blown through the ac vents!
Its not about the air speed or fanning, the fact is that oxygen, althought it is not flamable on its own, increases the flamability of other objects, and with many gamblers smoking, it could be catastrophic
Apart from the irrelevant facts in Jack Jones article it is almost identical to another article on another web site that claims to be authored by Mark Pilarski. Maybe they both live in the same area, but it is interesting that the Captain said exactly the same words to two apparently different people. Vegas is 2000ft above sea level. The higher you go the less oxygen. So all the casinos have to do is pump enough oxygen in to make it the same as sea level and there would be no increase in danger. Also, vegas has many oxygen bars. If increased oxygen levels were so amazing dangerous these bars would be shut down by the fire department.
It is not an urban legaed, oxygen is VERY safe, and not flammable if used in the right percentages. All you have to do is find the blue compressor, then you find the oxygen valves.
I recently went on a trip to the high altitudes in Bolivia and the homes there have hvac units with oxygen built in.
Well if its not oxygen, what keeps me awake at the casino. Once out of there i begin to feel sleepy. There is definitely something there.