Seen in 702: Do you really need a drink here?

For the most part in Las Vegas, you can drink for “free” when you are participating in various games of chance.

(Yes, we’re breaking news left and right.)

For those of the non-gaming persuasion, prices for imbibing span the spectrum, from the $1 beers during football games at Station Casino sportsbooks to springing for the $25,000 bottle service experience at the higher-end nightclubs.

So unless you are Nicolas Cage’s Oscar-winning character in “Leaving Las Vegas,” you can get a drink. And biology, as it be, at times you will need to, er, create space to continue to enjoy beverages without discomfort.

Which brings us to this week’s public service announcement: There is no reason to bring the aforementioned drink into a public bathroom stall.

Apparently, that message was lost on the folks at Binion’s, who have cup holders in the men’s stalls in at least one restroom.

As great detail is dedicated to keeping these places clean, it remains a public restroom, which has germs, which could make their way into your container of beer, soda, whatever.

“But I’m careful,” you might say. “My drink is just there for a minute. What could happen?”

Two words: toilet plume.

From our friends at Good Housekeeping comes these words of caution: “The first foray into this poop-tastic piece of physics happened during the ’50s, with a particularly groundbreaking (and skin-crawling) piece of research emerging in 1975, when Charles P. Gerba published a study in the journal Applied Microbiology.

“Gerba found that a single flush sent E. coli airborne and viable for at least four to six hours later. That means your 7-year-old could flush the toilet with the lid up after he gets home from school and harmful bacteria would still be floating around your bathroom at dinnertime.”

The article has other bits of information to make you paranoid and nauseous. But maybe let’s keep it simple: If you’re with friends, let them watch your drink. If you’re at the bar, the bartender should be able to keep an eye on it (and remember to tip your servers).

If you’re out alone, don’t trust anyone, have a relatively full drink and find yourself still needing to go, use the advice Dr. Henry Jones gave his son: “Indiana, let it go.”

Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on Twitter.