PROGRESS: WinnaVegas debuts new air filtration system, solar panels

SLOAN, Iowa -- The WinnaVegas Casino Resort already is winning big on its bet on LED lighting, solar panels and new air filtration system. 

The casino began using a new air filtration system early this year; the old HVAC was wheezing its way to a slow death after 27 years handling air laden with cigarette smoke. The new lights and solar panels, along with the more-efficient air handler, have already reduced the casino's monthly energy costs by 20 to 25 percent. 

WinnaVegas General Manager Mayan Beltran said the casino's decision to make these capital improvements began with the HVAC system, which had run since 1992 and wasn't worth fixing anymore. 

Non-smoking guests complained to the casino more than anything about the smell of cigarette smoke. And then there's the card dealers, servers and other casino employees who spend a lot of time in the same air that was killing the HVAC. 

"It's not so bad when they're periodic guests, they come in and out periodically; it's more dangerous for the employees that are there 40 hours a week and more," Beltran said. 

WinnaVegas debuted its new state-of-the-art Casino Air filtration system in January.

Casino Air, whose smoke filtration technology is used in casinos across the country, says the new system will leave the air inside the casino virtually devoid of smoke, even as guests continue puffing. 

"It's going to take out any tar, nicotine, paper ash, microscopic particles, it takes out allergens, germs, bacteria," Beltran said. "It's the top-of-the-line filtration system in the casino industry." 

According to a statement from Casino Air, the old air handlers at WinnaVegas had "basically been destroyed by years and years of tar and nicotine abuse." 

The new HVAC system also consumes about 40 percent less energy than the old system, which Beltran attributes to the fact that it recirculates air (already heated or cooled) back into the casino, rather than taking in fresh air from the outside and warming or cooling it. 

Meanwhile, WinnaVegas is in the process of installing sets of solar panels to power the casino and hotel. Panels have already been installed on the bingo hall, and work to install solar panels in other parts of the casino resumed in April. 

"Part of our facility is already running on solar," Beltran said in January. 

Beltran anticipates the solar panels alone will save the casino $2 million in electricity costs over the next 20 years. The casino has replaced 90 percent of its old incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs with more efficient LED bulbs.  

The Winnebago tribe, which owns and operates the casino, is happy to have a financial win for the casino dovetail with an environmental win. 

"Obviously, financially, if you can save money, that's great," he said. "But for us, our culture, being tribes, we're all about eco-friendly. If you think about it, we try to use everything from the Earth and save the Earth. When we killed a buffalo, we used every piece of the buffalo."