Las Vegas, city of sin, just got a little naughtier. With cannabis being legal in Nevada, it isn’t surprising that The Lexi hotel is making things a little more comfortable for smokers without making any sacrifices to the hotel’s luxury and exclusivity.
The 64-room, adults-only hotel found just off the famous Las Vegas Strip allows marijuana users to smoke in the select rooms (named 420a, 420b, and so on) without disturbing non-consuming guests, something made possible by a state-of-the-art air filtration system.
Owner, Alexandre Rizk, wants to remind people that The Lexi doesn’t sell cannabis, it just provides a safe place to smoke.
There are strict cannabis laws in Nevada that prohibit smoking in public spaces, which means that guests cannot smoke in the hot tub or pool area of the hotel. But this isn’t the only legal stipulation The Lexi Hotel faces.
The hotel doesn’t have a cannabis consumption licence and Nevada’s regulations stipulate that cannabis establishments can’t operate within 1,500 feet of a casino. While the Lexi doesn’t have a casino, it is close to the gambling floor of Palace Station which has raised questions over the legality of The Lexi.
Regardless, Rizk, who bought The Lexi when it was known as The Artisan for $12 million USD in March 2022, believes that his pioneering business model is legal and is eager to navigate the as-of-yet uncharted waters of cannabis legalisation.
This move has been met with enthusiasm because despite cannabis having been legalised in the state in 2016, the issue has been finding a legal space in which to consume cannabis. This has been an issue for many visitors to Vegas.
This isn’t Rizk’s first cannabis-friendly hotel. Rizk also owns the Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona which acts as a proof-of-concept for cannabis friendly hotels having been able to host cannabis-friendly events and cannabis infused dinners served on the panoramic rooftop.
The Clarendon Hotel has been a success which led Rizk to expand his cannabis-friendly ventures with his own brand, Elevations Hotels and Resorts, with locations in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Francisco, and Oregon. He plans to franchise the brand if and when cannabis becomes federally legalised in the U.S.
Cannabis has shown to be big business in the U.S. with a projected tourism worth over $17 billion USD. Cannabis-friendly hotels have the potential to occupy 5% of the total hotel market, a not-so small $11 billion niche.
