In West Virginia, the Wheeling-Ohio County Board of Health held a special meeting to discuss a countywide smoking ban. The ban includes an exemption to allow smoking in certain areas at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and in some video lottery rooms. No action was taken at the meeting.
Wheeling Island President and General Manager Kim Florence told the board the casino could lose $17.5 million in annual revenue and 140 of 600 casino jobs could be lost if a smoking ban were enacted, based on the experience of Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort after Hancock County approved a smoking ban in 2015. “Wheeling Island pays $18 million in payroll every year in this community. My purpose is Wheeling Island needs stability. We want to maintain revenues and continue to grow. I ask that no changes be made and our facility continues to maintain its exemption,” Florence said.
She noted the casino contributes $50 million in annual gross revenue to the state, $1.3 million to Ohio County and $500,000 to the city of Wheeling. She said those amounts don’t include property taxes paid by the facility.
Florence told board members in the first year of Hancock County’s smoking ban, Mountaineer Casino’s revenues dropped $25 million, or 19.2 percent. For the year ending June 30, Mountaineer’s income dropped $4 million, or 4 percent, she said.
She added 71 employees work in a smoking environment on the casino’s gambling floor. If any of them have a problem with secondhand smoke, they can be reassigned to the casino’s non-smoking area, but only about a dozen have requested a transfer in the past 14 years, Florence said.
Three new board members expressed concern that an expanded smoking ban could affect the economy. David Croft, who joined the board in July, said, “Economic health can be correlated with physical health. It’s hard not to look at the economics of what gaming revenue does for the community.”
Christian Turak, who also joined in July, asked, “Are safety benefits worth the economic impacts?”
Wheeling Councilman Chad Thalman, who represents the city on the health board, said Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack provides close to $1 million, including property taxes, to the city annually. Most of the money goes into the city’s pension fund. Terry Sterling, who joined in September, said, “That revenue is very important to the city.”
After hearing the speakers, Dr. John Holloway, board chairman, said, “There are definitive health benefits to having clean indoor and outdoor air regulations. These regulations are to protect people in the workplace.”
Health Officer Dr. William Mercer said Delaware North, owners of the Wheeling Island facility, operates a couple of non-smoking casinos. “It can be done,” Mercer said.
The board will reconvene on November 14.
