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StumblePalms turns up its nose at effort to scent casino
Chris Morris / Special to the Sun
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 | 2 a.m.
The "Real World" suite at the Palms
Map of Palms Casino Resort
Palms Casino Resort
4321 West Flamingo Road, Las Vegas
Ever since it shot to fame as the setting of MTV’s “Real World” series in 2002, the Palms has enjoyed a reputation as the sexy, young hipster among Las Vegas resorts.
It has used everything it can to stay popular with the 20-somethings — reality TV-fame, celebrity patrons, trendy nightclubs, a new concert venue, a recording studio. Most recently it even tried on the earthy, leathery scent of a grandfather’s cologne.
No, we’re not talking about the latest Hugh Hefner visit. Palms executives wanted to copy several Strip resorts’ longstanding practice of pumping a signature scent through their casinos and lobbies. It’s commercialized aromatherapy aimed at making people want to stay longer, spend more money and come back soon to spend even more.
The Palms scent — teakwood, named after the Southeast Asian tropical hardwood — did leave a lasting impression — but for too many people, apparently, that impression was a bad one.
“The place literally stinks. I’d almost rather smell the smoke,” one tourist noted in his online review.
“They thought it would attract people, meanwhile, I think all people have been doing is complaining about it,” a Palms employee commented.
That’s why the smell ended in late June after wafting through the Palms for less than a month.
George Maloof, owner of the Palms, said he had objected to scenting his property all along.
“It was one of those things that someone talked me into, so I said ‘OK. We’ll try it’ and after a few weeks, I really didn’t like it,” he said.
Maloof has never been a fan of using fragrances in his resorts. He said he has “a sensitive nose” that even makes him averse to garlic.
He previously tried a fragrance on part of the casino floor when the Palms opened in 2001, but quickly axed it.
“I said, ‘Do we have to do it just because everyone else is doing it?’ ”
It’s a trend that started in 1990 with Steve Wynn’s Mirage when Los Angeles-based AromaSys pumped a Polynesian scent through the the property’s vents.
AromaSys isn’t the company that dealt what was smelt at the Palms. Neither Maloof nor Palms spokesman Larry Fink would say who was.
AromaSys is to thank for the coconut aroma wafting through Mandalay Bay, the blend of lemon and ginger at the Encore spa and the scents at Caesars Palace, Luxor, Venetian, MGM Grand and Monte Carlo.
AromaSys mainly uses two systems to distribute fragrances through large properties such as Strip resorts. One is electrostatic technology, distributing fragrance through the duct work of the building with a subtle electric charge. The other is a nebulizer, which pumps air over the fragrance material and through vents.
It can cost $20,000 to $500,000 or more a year to perfume a large resort or casino, depending on the number of areas and the type of fragrance used, AromaSys President Brad Owen said.
Maloof said the Palms spent only $3,200 on “teakwood” under a monthly lease arrangement.
Usually resorts spend some money on this kind of effort even before footing a bill for supply and delivery of the scent, Owen said. A property may want a customized scent developed, for example. But most important, scents should be tested with focus groups before getting spread through a building, Owen said.
The Palms didn’t use focus groups, Maloof said. Instead, the resort just chose from a variety of samples that were offered.
The scent itself is only part of the equation, Owen said. There’s also the question of how much of the scent to use, how strong it should be.
“You want to be able to hit a bell curve,” he says. “You’re not going to be able to please everyone all the time, but you want to get the majority of your customers to be able to walk in and have it be not overwhelming, but barely above the conscious level.”
In the case of Las Vegas casinos, the fragrances are often used to mask the odor of stale cigarette smoke or sweaty travelers, or “malodors” in scent marketing company lingo.
Unfortunately for the Palms, its teakwood apparently turned out to be a malodor too.
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If it starts smelling like old people in there,dont get excited,its just Hugh Hefner.
I loved the way the Mirage used to smell just after it opened and the poker room was always rammed-jammed. It was one of my key experiences I made when I stayed at the Super 8 motel just by Ellis Island and walked over to the Mirage to play 10/20 stud. The welcoming smell of polynesian perfume when passing by the white tigers was always something special.
I think the Venetian went too far, as this smell gives me headache when I stay in there for too long. The casinos should find a mix between nothing and something that makes you like a property without getting over-d'd by the smell.
From Switzerland
Scents and fragrances do NOT have to be legally cleared for safety by the FDA so chemicals used to produce them can and are full of cancer risk causing agents and a severe health risk when breathed in. This holds true for all products made with fragrances. Perfumes, soaps, shampoos, laundry detergents, dryer sheets, etc. People should be using only free and clear products with NO fragrances added.
In The Southpoint u just have Horses aroma . It seems to work all the time. Quite popular with the cowgirls!
Agreed.. The Venetian went too far. It's almost like incense.. I keep looking for the beaded curtain.
Body sweat? Not even in the bedroom for me - yuck!
The Venetian is the worst!! It smells and TASTES like soap. You can actually taste it. It's awful.
I have to agree with Boris and mrtmtvlr. The Venetian scent is so overpowering it gives me a headache. I've stopped playing there because of it. I went to th Palazzo last weekend and the scent (stink) is starting to waft over there from the Venetian. Rumor has it that some high roller at the Venetian likes that smell so thats why the put it in. Maybe one of you insiders can confirm that.
PeeeeeYooooou!!!
Tell Sheldon and the rest of the scent-loving psycho's we've had enough of the cloying, breath-stealing, awful smelling junk.
If I wanted that French Whorehouse smell, I'd go to a french whorehouse.
I remember back in college we used this spray called Ozium... got rid of all manner of "scents".
Now, THAT'S the stuff!!!
It's about time someone talks about the toxic cancer causing scents being pumped thru the casino lobbies. I almost choked to death after standing in line at the Venetian with a air aroma that was so strong many people were complaining about. I will no go to the Venetian any more. My throat hurt for days!! The Mirage also has a very strong toxic air aroma as soon as you open the door. Please be careful folks they are toxic. Consumer beware!!!!
I have been a regular at the Palms ever since it opened. As a matter of fact, I am the only person who has been a regular at the Palms poker room since the time it opened until about a month ago.
The palms has now lost my business. First, they joined the ranks of the other greedy strip hotels. They tightened their slots, they bumped their ATM fee to $5.00 (well, actually, $4.99), they will not continue to cash previously cashed $400 pension checks that I receive from one of the world's largest corporations, unless I first apply for credit, and now thy try to con me by thinking that a smelly, ugly, stinky perfume smell will get me to give them more of my money.
Good by, Palms.
Someone has spread the news that this air scent is toxic, and next comes what always has to come: 100 million dollar lawsuits against Venetian and co. let's see who wins this one.
I just think the Venetian went too far! They even spray it out in the valet zone so you get a french-whore-house-scent-welcome by driving up the alley. It's incredible. But then, to my big surprise, when you go to the main restroom, it smells so bad inside, full of cigarette smoke, it seems to me that they did not set the priorities properly.
From Switzerland
TheKash: Did they take out the deuces wild progressive, full pay by the main entrance? That's the best videopoker in the city. Would be sad if they decided to cut it off.
From Switzerland
First of all scent diffused in Public spaces is not toxic. Ask for a MSDS sheet if you are concerned. Cigarette smoke is toxic.
Overdoing scent in a public space is obnoxious, but when done properly it simply adds to the appeal of the property.
"Teakwood" is an odd choice. Thats why the reaction was so negative.
its funny..people would rather smell a mix of cigarette smoke, cigar smoke, stale spilled beer and 100,000's of mixed scents from ever skank that is hanging out there? Talk about "taste" and smells??
As for KASH: you cash your checks at a casino???
I like the scent at Venetian/Palazzo. It smells pretty ritzy!
I like the Venetian aroma. Granted its a bit strong, but smells better than the Tropicana.
OK, toxic conspiracy folks, so if these scents are full of cancer causing chemicals and we are poisoning ourselves by setting foot in the casino, please enlighten us on what these chemicals are. Otherwise, the panic alarm is rather meaningless and without credibility. I'm not disputing your claims, just saying without evidence it sounds like paranoia.
Indeed I agree with all of you, the Venetian's scent is the worst in the city. Just WALKING past the strip entrance it hits you, being inside? That's a whole different story and Palazzo has it's own system with the same scent so if you're smelling it there too it's because Adelson installed one there too. Most of the strip hotels has an intoxicating aroma, some are pleasant others not so. I stayed at the Flamingo in December 2009, they have a coconut perfume in there, pretty smelly. Now Imperial Palace, they don't have one haha
" please enlighten us on what these chemicals are. Otherwise, the panic alarm is rather meaningless "
My response to this comment is that each and every person should read ingredients and chemicals used in scented products, as they are NOT held under any FDA approval laws. This means that you are trusting that these products are safe just because some bottom line corporation in China or virtually anyplace in the U.S. and world say's it safe????? We Americans trust too much because for years products manufactured here were under the FDA scrutinies. Not anymore. Read and beware we Americans are being poisoned in our food chain and definitely the cleanser, detergents and scented products that can do as they please and enjoy NO FDA control.
Anything is better than cigarette and cigar smoke. Anything!
Agreed, the Venetian is pretty bad...when I first walked into that casino several years ago, I thought someone spilled chemicals on the carpet by the escalator. It smells like the Carpet Fresh I used to dump on my carpet in college when someone would spill beer.
I love the smell of the Mandalay Bay, though.
Yeah, sure, okay. I prefer to live my life and not worry so much about everything. The idea that "everything" is bad for us is a cult and I'm not a cultist. LIVING causes illness and death. I'd rather die LIVING.
THEhotel has a great lobby scent ... Aria, not so much.
As long as it doesn't smell of Tobacco in any form, I'm good to go
Venetian/Palazzo smells like carpet cleaner, and I agree with the comment above that it's so bad that you can actually taste it. They need to do something about it, everyone I know complains about it.
RE: BoreUS Thank you for my first good laugh of the day! To the complainers -I guess stay out of the casinos if you are sensitive to smells, including cigar & cigarette smoke............
I agree, Mandalay Bay and THEhotel are both aromatically pleasing - fresh, a tad spicy and not overdone. The milk maids who are often seen folk dancing in the lobbies are likewise in agreement, and because of that, the lonely goatherd isn't lonely any more. Tired, yes, but lonely, no.
Practical observation:
I once had an aunt who was violently allergic to the chemicals in perfumes and air fresheners. Ordinary cigarette smoke didn't bother her. She finally died of anaphalactic shock because some visitor brought very intense perfume to another patient in my aunt's nursing home.
What happens when some unsuspecting tourist comes into a casino, and keels over because chemicals from these AromaSys systems are being sprayed in the casino's air?
Are there warning signs outside the casinos telling customers of the use of these chemicals and the potential health risk to customers with Anaphylaxis?
Its called Premises Liability. Read up on it, genius risk managers at publicly traded casinos. The casinos' bottom lines, and thereby their stock prices, can be negatively affected because I foresee the casinos' liability insurance carriers denying coverage, on a customer anaphylaxis death claim, because the casino's management are knowingly, not negligently, spraying this crap in the air without warning the public.
I'm no health nut. I just care about the bottom line for Las Vegas casinos.
It's no coincidence that The Venetian scent is being mentioned so much in response to this article. The former Sr VP of Hotel from the Venetian is now President of The Palms.
Employees at The Venetian can't smell the scent because they are used to it and they hear so many complaints that they don't even bother passing it on to management anymore because it gets shrugged off. Sr Management continually shrugs it off and says "it's what Adelson wants". The key difference with the Palms is that Mr. Maloof is more hands on and they were able to reverse the decision. Not possible at The Venetian since Adelson is now focused on Asia and nobody in the organization has the guts to make the change or approach him on the issue.
Congratulations should go to Mr. Maloof for responding to customer feedback and acknowledging a poor decision.
Trust your instincts Mr. Maloof. Vegas needs more owners like you.
Anaphylaxis can occur in response to any allergen. Food, medicine, any category. It kills fewer people each year in the United States than many of the rarest and most obscure causes like rabies. Peanuts cause Anaphylaxis, should they be banned from all restaurants?
Venetian intensity aside, I love the smells at a number of the Strip properties. The idea that casinos have some kind of obligation to warn customers about something that is completely non-toxic to 99.99999% of the population or risk liability beyond second-hand smoke is beyond dumb.
If casinos spent all that money putting in better air purifying systems that extract second hand smoke from above and pump in filtered outside air below, we would all be healthier and may want to stay longer. There is nothing better than the smell of fresh air. Fake scents, are just that. But most of Vegas is fake, so who cares, right?
I know about as little about gambling as environprotector knows about the origins and composition of fragrances. None of the casinos in Vegas (and elsewhere) are using fragrance material from China. We at the Scent Marketing Institute know about this because we observe the industry and inform the public on all use of fragrances for non-traditional purposes. And yes, the industry is regulated -- just not by the government.
So would you please stop your fearmongering because you discredit those who really have problems with scent/aromas/fragrances -- and that's not only in casinos. Cigarette smoke (first and second hand) on the other hand is a PROVEN killer. As far as we know nobody has died from inhalation of scent while gambling or elsewhere yet.
The folks at the Palms have made every mistake in the book beginning with the concept. Just because everybody does it you need to do it, too. That's not a concept.
Next they did obviously not consult with a perfumer or fragrance manufacturer to develop an appropriate signature scent. It's like picking a doctor from the yellow pages and in the end complaining that he wasn't good. Bad luck!
Next you need to understand that more is not better when it comes to fragrance. You also need to know that "anosmia" - the inability to smell or even recognize a scent - kicks in after about 30 minutes. Now imagine working there for 8 hours or more. Chances are that as a staff member you say "hmmm, I can't smell anything, let me crank it up".
They should also have asked their customers what they think about the scent and then adjust their strategy/choice of fragrance instead of simply saying "it doesn't work". That's not fair to our industry. BTW, we know whose equipment it was but we won't tell you. CynicalObserver, please do not call them AromaSys systems because (as the article stated) it wasn't theirs'.
Is there a liability? One can certainly be constructed and since it doesn't snow in Vegas dragging yourself into a scented casino would be the equivalent of claiming a slip and fall on the unshoveled portion of a New York sidewalk. Ambulance chasers take note!
Which is worse: Body Odor or Petruli Oil?
Discuss...
Here we go again! The "Born Again Breathers" are getting rid of smoke and now want us to be able just to breathe whatever aroma they choose! GET A LIFE or stay home!
LVMD2020...
It's patchouli oil, and that shi5 is butt nasty,
UNLESS worn by the single drop by a good-lookin' Hippie Chick.... Haven't smelled any of those fine creatures in awhile, though.
Awful. Just awful.
I guess the same could be said for "Body Odor"...
I still like that MANURE smell at the Southpoint. The cowgirls seem to like it too. See u at the Southpoint. There is no pretense at the SP!
The hotels have been filled with toxic fumes for years it's called cigarette smoke and it's been killing people for years. I won't complain about a little aroma therapy and be a hypocrite about the smoke.
You forgot the other crucial mistake the Palms made...paying $1.5 million for development of
"Teakwood...by Pusiteri."
During 4 mandatory staff meetings in in March, Pusiteri claimed responsiblity, and that the Palms had invested the $1.5mil in it's new signiture scent. That line about spending $3500 is BS.
Of course, Pusiteri also claims putting hair dryers in hotel rooms was his idea and takes credit for Venetian becoming a 4star property.
I like the way the MGM lobby smells.
Itoo like the scent at Venetian/Palazzo. It smells pretty ritzy.
MizzouGypsy,
Maloof doesn't say if the $3,200 is per month -- which could be about right depending on the number of units installed, and which would fall in line with the amount per year that Brad Owen had mentioned.
The really unbelievable/unrealistic number is $1.5mil for the signature scent. That's an amount almost impossible to spend. On the very high end we have heard of $150,000 in creative fees charged by a fragrance designer/manufacturer. If he made his scent selection with one of the major equipment manufacturers they usually roll (if they charge any at all) creative fees into the monthly lease arrangement.
But let's not get the impression that a signature scent can fetch $1.5mil. If that were the case I'd be in that business as well... ;-)
Harald H. Vogt
Scent Marketing Institute
What The Palms has forgotten is that if the service stinks- so will the sales. You cant make up for crabby, rude, stuck up employees with perfume.
just another example of beeing cheap ends up with ccccheap results lol
hope smell wakes Mr. Maloof up to stinky management team from TOP to bottom prez has turned place into stinkyhole lol fact not opinion hehe
Putting aside the issue of the scent; a bigger issue remains at large for The Palms. And that is a decision was made which went against the owner's initial decision and instinct which was not not scent the hotel, a cost was occurred, and customers had a negative reaction. What they failed to do was to find out what their customers wanted initially. In this financial climate, all organizations need to stay focused on what their customer's needs are. Possibly if they had surveyed guests prior they probably would have found out that there was no need to scent the hotel which would have resulted in savings of money and time (which is equal to money).
I do not work at The Palms, but I did work at The Venetian. I can attest from first hand experience that any success the Venetian had during the period of time that the new Palms Pres was in charge, was in spite of his decisions. What I witnessed was a culture of micro-management from top to bottom. It was a culture where nobody in management was empowered to make a decision unless it was blessed by the then Sr. VP (now Palms President). As a result every decision was made in reaction to a problem, instead of being proactive resulting in additional cost, lower morale, and compromised customer service.
This may seem like a simple story about hotel scent, but it represents a bigger symptom of what may continue to be an ongoing problem for The Palms. The new emperor has no clothes.
The Palms has horrible management and a very stuck up attitude. Of course there a few good people there, but for the most part the customer service is substandard. Tell me ONE cocktail server who isn't completely rude, and the over zealous security is borderline harassment. That security manager "CM" is the absolute worst at dealing with customers cordially.
George Maloof has no idea how messed up his management team is, they are not typical of a casino trying to improve its "diamond" quality