This was no gamble...
Downtown Las Vegas hasn't been the same since the completion of the Fremont Street Experience revived this popular gambling and tourist destination. This four-block project has successfully turned a city street into a large canopy-covered walkway that has substantially increased the tourist and gambling business in the downtown area.
The Fremont Street Experience which includes a mist evaporation system to protect the tourists from the sun and heat, and a laser light show presented several times nightly, created problems for the Four Queens Hotel and Casino.
Business at the Four Queens Hotel and Casino, located on Fremont Street, was suffering because the two existing air curtains on each end of the casino were limiting access into the hotel and casino from the sidewalk where the crowds stroll and gather to watch the light shows.
In order to share in the success of The Fremont Street Experience, the Four Queens Hotel and Casino contracted with Harris Consulting Engineers in Las Vegas to design an additional access opening. This new, 48 foot opening would be located between the existing entrances.
The hotel wanted the new entrance to open without doors. This required the design and building of an air curtain to separate the casino from the outside elements. Here's where the hotel encountered a problem. Because of the hotel's design, the air curtain would be obstructed by existing structural supports. And, in order to maintain proper building pressure, the air curtain had to provide precise control of the airflow around the obstructions and down to the return air grate which is also the walkway into the casino.
In addition to maintaining the pressure in the building to prevent the loss of conditioned air from the casino, energy consumption and comfort were significant design criteria.
With the assistance of Long & Associates, Inc., Ruskin's Las Vegas representative, the Harris team responded to the challenge by designing a custom air curtain that provides precision air flow around the existing structural supports.
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