Casinos want to clear the air on smoking rules

Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 19, 2006 at midnight

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BLACK HAWK - As most of Colorado's businesses adjust to a statewide crackdown on smoking, the new law remains hazy when it comes to casinos.

State lawmakers intended to exempt gambling establishments when they prohibited smoking in workplaces starting July 1, but they recently discovered a loophole allowing casino workers to demand smoke-free workplaces. Another gray area in the new law: whether casino restaurants can still allow smoking areas or must smoking be confined to the areas of casinos where gaming actually takes place.

"It would certainly be helpful if they wrote a clarifying piece of legislation," said Steve Roark, president of Jacobs Entertainment, which owns The Lodge and Gilpin Casinos along Main Street in this limited-stakes gaming town.

So far, gaming parlors here say they've yet to get any requests from workers demanding a smoke-free environment. But an anti-smoking group now says Colorado casino workers have been asking this week for advice on how to broach the subject with their bosses.

"We have heard from a number of casino employees who are trying to determine the best way to approach their employers," said Stephanie Steinberg, chairwoman of Smoke-Free Gaming of Colorado, a local advocacy group.

Officials at Ameristar Black Hawk, the Isle of Capri, Colorado Central Station and a number of other large casinos here and in Central City said no workers have asked about it.

"I know I'd hear about it if there had been any requests," added Lois Rice, head of the Colorado Gaming Association, a trade group whose members include mainly the bigger casinos in the state.

Rice noted that the legislation does not clearly define where casinos can allow their patrons to smoke. "We think they intended the restaurants be nonsmoking," she said.

One of Black Hawk's biggest casinos reads the new law the same way.

Ameristar Black Hawk no longer allows smoking in any of its three dining establishments, although two of the restaurants are close to the gaming areas where gamblers can light up freely.

Patrons of its upscale Timberline Grill steakhouse get the least amount of exposure because the restaurant sits behind closed doors.

Ameristar's renovation of the sprawling casino included a $500,000 upgrade to the air filtration and ventilation system. "It gives us an advantage in the market," said Michelle Shriver, general manager of Ameristar's Black Hawk property. "We have the capability of expelling air and refreshing it every five minutes."

The casino touts guest surveys giving it high marks for air quality.

But even with the systems in place, the smell of smoke greets visitors when they walk in the door. Ashtrays abound, at slot machines and in walkways, to accommodate the many customers who choose to light up at slot machines or wherever the casino permits.

Shriver said the casino's guests, even the smokers, have reacted positively to having a place to go and eat away from smoke.

Up the road at Central City's huge Fortune Valley Casino, there have been smoke-free restaurants for years, said casino marketing director Joe Behm. "We've done it for so long, people are used to it," he said.

But Steinberg of Smoke-Free Gaming, who also likes to frequent the mountain casinos, said many of the smaller storefront parlors can't do much about segregating smokers from non-smokers. And she questioned the ability of air filtration systems to get rid of harmful smoke. "People don't sit up at the ceiling near the vents," she said.

A handful of casino patrons expressed indifference when asked about smoking.

"It's not a problem," said Morrison resident Robert Adams, echoing the views of other customers entering Ameristar Black Hawk on Tuesday. "I quit smoking 20 years ago, but I smoked for 40. It's probably too late (to worry about it) now anyway."

Across the street at the Lodge Casino, one nonsmoker rejected the idea of banning cigarettes. "All we're doing is taking rights from people," said Judy Schmidt, of Colorado Springs.

While casino executives say people don't drive up to the mountain towns just to smoke, they acknowledge that many of their customers enjoy lighting up while gambling.

Helen Mitchell, who spent the night in Black Hawk on her visit from Aurora, summed up the key reason casinos likely won't ban smoking completely until lawmakers force the issue.

"If I can't smoke, I don't want to come," Mitchell said.

What's the issue?

Casinos in Colorado's three limited-stakes gaming venues won an exemption from a statewide ban on smoking in workplaces. But the law has caused confusion because:

• A loophole exists that gives casino employees the right to demand a smoke-free work environment. An anti-smoking group says some workers are preparing to make that demand, but casinos say they have not received any requests.

• Smoking is allowed on the retail floor of gaming areas, but the casino industry says the law remains unclear whether legislators wanted the law to ban smoking in casino eateries.

kelleyj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5068

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