Eldorado Resorts, owner of the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in Chester, West Virginia and the Presque Isle Downs racino near Erie, Pennsylvania, is making a proactive move to hedge against rising anti-smoking sentiment in both states.
An expansion of an indoor smoking ban by Hancock County has forced the issue with Mountaineer, which must become smoke-free by July 1 under county rules that had been opposed by the casino. But in Erie, Presque Isle is facing potential new restrictions from a bill in the Pennsylvania legislature to repeal the casinos’ exemption from the statewide indoor smoking ban. Currently, casinos can allow smoking on up to half of their gaming floors, with no requirements for separation of smoking and non-smoking areas.
With state regulators saying consistently that smoking is the No. 1 complaint they receive concerning the casinos, many feel it is only a matter of time before smoking is banned on casino floors, as it has been in many other states. Presque Isle is moving to hedge against that possibility with its latest expansion project.
Presque Isle will implement a redesigned floor plan that includes a large, contiguous non-smoking area including a bar and casino entrance. IT is part of a $5.1 million remodeling plan. The non-smoking area will begin at the casino’s south entrance, on the opposite side from the main entrance. Gamblers will be able to access slots, table games and most restaurants without setting foot in a smoking area.
Mountaineer, meanwhile, is building an outdoor patio gambling area, where slots and tables will be offered with smoking permitted. “Obviously, we want to be a good citizen of the county and the state,” Mountaineer General Manager Chris Kern told West Virginia’s MetroNews. “We want our employees and the community to be healthy, but we also want that revenue, most of which we get (from) out of state. With as many games as we plan on having, it should allow us to take care of those customers that want to take part in smoking as well.”
According to Kern, the new outdoor area will have up to 200 slot machines and six table games.
