The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF), which is lobbying for an end to exemptions that allow smoking in casinos, says now is the time to make this fundamental change.
According to the ANRF, smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke are key risk factors for susceptibility to more severe Covid-19 symptoms because of their impact on underlying health conditions like heart disease, diminished lung function, weakened immune system and associated risk of respiratory illness. It strongly recommends removing second-hand smoke from indoor environments including casinos.
“Understandably, businesses are eager to reopen their doors while also ensuring a safe and healthy environment,” the ANRF said in a statement. “We applaud the many hospitality and gaming venues reopening with smoke-free indoor air policies. We especially want to acknowledge the strong leadership from sovereign tribes to reopen many casinos as smoke-free venues for the safety and well-being of staff and customers.”
Its partial list of smoke-free tribal casinos includes:
- Casino Arizona — Arizona
- Talking Stick Resort — Arizona
- Oaklawn Park Casino – Arkansas
- Southland Casino – Arkansas
- Augustine Casino – California
- Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs — California
- Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage — California
- Bear River Casino Resort – California
- Cher-Ae Heights Casino — California
- Fantasy Springs Resort Casino — California
- Lucky 7 Casino & Hotel — California
- Paiute Palace Casino — California
- Pechanga Resort Casino — California
- San Pablo Lytton Casino — California
- Table Mountain Casino — California
- Mohegan Sun — Connecticut
- Miccosukee Resort & Gaming – Florida
- Clearwater River Casino & Lodge — Idaho
- Four Winds Casino Resort – Indiana
- French Lick Casino – Indiana
- Prairie Flower Casino — Iowa
- WinnaVegas Casino — Iowa
- Keeneland Race Course — Kentucky
- Red Mile Gaming & Racing — Kentucky
- Jena Choctaw Pines Casino – Louisiana
- Bay Mills Resort & Casino — Michigan
- FireKeepers Casino — Michigan
- Four Winds Casino Dowagiac — Michigan
- Four Winds Casino Hartford — Michigan
- Four Winds Casino New Buffalo — Michigan
- Greektown Casino — Michigan
- Island Resort — Michigan
- Leelanau Sands Casino & Lodge — Michigan
- MGM Grand Detroit — Michigan
- MotorCity Casino — Michigan
- Odawa Casino Resort — Michigan
- Saganing Eagles Landing Casino — Michigan
- Soaring Eagle Casino — Michigan
- Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel – Michigan
- Cedar Lakes Casino — MN
- Fortune Bay Casino — Minnesota
- Grand Casino Hinkley — Minnesota
- Grand Casino Mille Lacs — Minnesota
- Northern Lights Casino — Minnesota
- Seven Clans Casinos, Thief River Falls & Warroad — Minnesota
- White Oak Casino — Minnesota
- Magnolia Bluffs Casino — Mississippi
- Seneca Allegheny Resort & Casino — New York
- Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino — New York
- Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino — New York
- Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort — North Carolina
- Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Hotel & Casino — North Carolina
- Choctaw Travel Plaza Casino Too (15 locations) — Oklahoma
- Antlers, Atoka, Broken Bow, Durant West (Calera), Durant East (Durant), Grant, Heavener, Hugo, Idabel, McAlester, Pocola, Poteau, Stigler, Stringtown, and Wilburton.
- Comanche Nation Casino — Oklahoma
- Comanche Red River Casino — Oklahoma
- Comanche Spur Casino — Oklahoma
- Comanche Star Casino — Oklahoma
- Fort Sill Apache Casino – Oklahoma
- Kiowa Casino and Hotel — Oklahoma
- Kiowa Casino Carnegie — Oklahoma
- Kiowa Casino Verden — Oklahoma
- Twin River Casino — Rhode Island
- Twin River Tiverton Casino Hotel — Rhode Island
- Chinook Winds Casino Resort – Oregon
- Indian Head Casino — Oregon
- Angel of the Winds Casino – Washington
- Little Creek Casino Resort – Washington
- Muckleshoot Casino — Washington
- Nisqually Red Wind Casino – Washington
- Quinault Beach Resort and Casino — Washington
- Shoalwater Bay Casino — Washington
- Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort – Washington
- Ho-Chunk Nation Gaming Black River Falls — Wisconsin
- Ho-Chunk Nation Gaming Nekoosa — Wisconsin
- Ho-Chunk Nation Gaming Wittenberg — Wisconsin
- Lake of the Torches Resort Casino — Wisconsin
- Menominee Casino Resort — Wisconsin
- North Star Mohican Resort — Wisconsin
- Oneida Casino – Wisconsin (all sites):
- Packerland One-Stop
- Potawatomi Hotel & Casino — Wisconsin
“Local and state governments should also consider doing the right thing and making the change permanent by creating parity in the market and requiring all workplaces, bars, restaurants, and casinos to be 100 percent smoke-free indoors,” the statement continued.
“Only 100 percent smoke-free environments can guarantee protection to employees and patrons from the toxins in second-hand smoke. Just like coronavirus, secondhand smoke spreads throughout a building. Even during brief or low levels of exposure, secondhand smoke still creates significant health risks especially to the cardiovascular system.
“For casinos and hospitality sector businesses, now is the logical time to go smoke-free indoors.”
