West Virginia Casino Makes Appeal for Designated Smoking Area

Posted on: October 4, 2024, 12:16h. 

Last updated on: October 4, 2024, 12:16h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

A West Virginia casino located in a county that prohibits tobacco smoking inside nearly all public places, including casinos, is asking for an exemption.

West Virginia casino smoking Mardi Gras
The Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in West Virginia is seeking privileges for indoor casino smoking. A change to the county’s smoking law in 2008 forced the casino to go smoke-free. (Image: Nitro Convention & Visitor’s Authority)

Officials with the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort recently petitioned the Kanawha-Charleston Board of Health for permission to offer gamblers an option to smoke and vape tobacco products while playing the facility’s more than 700 slot machines and 35 live dealer table games. Mardi Gras additionally has a Betly Sportsbook.

In West Virginia, the state allows counties to determine whether indoor smoking is allowed in certain public buildings. In 2008, Kanawha County passed its Clean Indoor  Air Regulation that prohibits indoor tobacco in most places.

The 2008 statute provides exemptions for bars that generate 80% of their revenue from alcoholic beverages, private residences, so long as they aren’t used for daycare, adult day care, or as a health care facility, and completely enclosed and separately ventilated retail tobacco businesses.

The county smoking law had provided an exemption for casinos associated with dog and horse racetracks like Mardi Gras. But the loophole was closed as of July 1, 2008, and gaming facilities within the county were forced to go smoke-free.

Smoking Request

Mardi Gras Casino & Resort is owned and operated by Delaware North. The New York-based hospitality and gaming firm acquired the casino and greyhound racetrack in 2018 for an undisclosed price. The seller was family-owned Hartman & Tyner, Inc.

Delaware North reps presented the county health board with a plan to construct a fully enclosed area on the casino floor with a “high-quality” independent ventilation system designed to filter out toxic secondhand smoke.

This initiative aims to keep Mardi Gras competitive in the market and retain business within West Virginia, as customers currently cross state lines to visit competitors that provide smoking accommodations,” said Delaware North Corporate Communications Director Glen White. “Our proposal outlines the creation of a separate space that ensures the comfort and safety of both smokers and non-smokers.”

The board did not vote on the request during the meeting. The board next meets in November.

If the casino smoking request is granted by the health agency, the Kanawha County Commission would have the final say on whether to approve the exemption.

Casino Needs Spark 

Among West Virginia’s four racinos, Mardi Gras is the worst-performing property in terms of gaming revenue. Its three competitors — Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Mountaineer Casino Resort, and Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack — all allow indoor casino smoking.

Hollywood is the top revenue-generated casino, with gross gaming revenue last year totaling almost $350 million. Mardi Gras won about $60 million from its gamblers.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says West Virginia has the highest smoking rate in the nation. An estimated 21% of adults in the Mountaineer State smoke tobacco compared to the nationwide average of 14%.

The CDC says the only way to fully protect casino employees and gamblers from secondhand smoke is to have a 100% smoke-free policy. Last year, the CDC reported that its testing of casino spaces supposedly smoke-free housed in resorts that also have designated smoking areas detected dangerous levels of secondhand smoke.