The casinos are notorious for sucking energy. Just look at the number of lights, the amount of air conditioning they have to run, the hundreds of slot machines that have to be lit up and functioning, the surveillance cameras, plus all the other areas on the casino property – shops, restaurants, spas – it is ridiculous. Then you add in a heat wave, and your casino’s electric bills just went through the roof. “We've raised the temperature settings all over the entire property,” said Don Trimble, general manager of Campo's Golden Acorn Casino. “It's not just to save money; it's to save energy.”

There are 13,410 slot machines total in the eight casinos, and if operating at the same time they are using 3.2 megawatts of electricity. That’s more than enough electric to power 2,000 homes. And that is when it isn’t hot – when the heat rises, so does the amount of electric that needs to be used. Then they can use as much as 12 megawatts.

The casinos are always looking for ways to conserve. They just finished converting the slot machines from 575 watts to 242 a piece.  They also just changed their slot machines from cash payouts to voucher systems. This saves having to have an internal motor to process the change on each and every slot machine. They have tried to reduce the kind of bulbs they use on the slot machines and fixtures, and have changed the displays to use less electric as well. But even with all the changes, they are still looking at a large energy bill. But they will keep on working to find ways of conserving, because what is good for the casinos is good for everyone.

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