Missouri casinos in St. Louis County had been going through a possible smoking ban after native authorities officers motioned to ban indoor smoking on the two gaming venues.
A smoker puffs on a cigarette whereas an individual within the background covers their face in an try to keep away from secondhand smoke. Missouri casinos in St. Louis County will proceed permitting indoor smoking on sure sections of their gaming flooring after native officers determined towards an indoor smoking ban. (Picture: Adobe Inventory)
St. Louis County borders the impartial metropolis of St. Louis. The county is residence to 2 industrial casinos, Hollywood On line casino St. Louis in Maryland Heights, and River Metropolis On line casino Lemay. Each properties are operated by Penn Leisure, which was Penn Nationwide Gaming till a yr in the past this month, when the Pennsylvania-based gaming agency underwent a rebranding.
Dr. Kanika Cunningham, the county well being division director, inspired the on line casino smoking ban to be applied. At present, the 2 casinos can designate as much as 30% of their gaming flooring for indoor smoking.
Even when there are partial smoking restrictions, there’s no solution to enable for smoke-free air,” Cunningham mentioned earlier than the council in Might. “The present air flow programs can scale back the odor, but it surely doesn’t scale back the extent of hazardous publicity.”
Officers representing Penn Leisure took the opposite aspect, and petitioned the St. Louis County Council to vote towards the proposal to get rid of indoor on line casino smoking. The corporate argued that such a regulation would place its two Missouri casinos at a aggressive drawback with casinos elsewhere within the Present-Me State, together with casinos in St. Louis correct and East St. Louis, Il.
Penn’s argument resonated, because the County Council shelved the no-smoking ordinance throughout its Tuesday evening assembly.
Hollywood On line casino reported to the Missouri Gaming Fee having 685 workers on the finish of 2022. River Metropolis reported 610 workers.
Patchwork Smoking Regulatory Atmosphere
Missouri lawmakers took a little bit of an atypical method to regulating indoor smoking once they handed the state’s Clear Indoor Air Legislation in 2002. The statute prohibits indoor tobacco use in most private and non-private locations, together with workplaces, most retail and industrial institutions, colleges and locations of studying, eating places that don’t derive nearly all of their income from alcohol or tobacco gross sales, childcare services, and well being care services.
Exemptions had been supplied for bars and taverns, bowling alleys, billiard parlors, and gaming venues like casinos. The state regulation tasked counties and municipalities with figuring out whether or not to permit smoking inside these sorts of companies. The state statute does restrict indoor smoking to not more than 30% of the overall indoor flooring house.
The state regulation doesn’t require exempt locations from providing indoor smoking areas.
Aggressive Panorama
Missouri is residence to 13 riverboat and land-based casinos, and all stay with indoor smoking sections. Penn’s two properties are among the many most profitable of the baker’s dozen of casinos.
Throughout the state’s 2023 fiscal yr that ended June 30, River Metropolis generated gross gaming income (GGR) of greater than $254.8 million. That ranked second within the state, behind solely Ameristar On line casino Resort St. Charles at $303 million. Penn’s Hollywood On line casino ranked third at roughly $243.6 million.
Casinos share 21% of their gross gaming revenue with the state, and moreover pay a $2 per particular person admission tax. River Metropolis counted about 4.1 million patrons throughout the 12-month interval, whereas Hollywood On line casino welcomed about 3.7 million visitors.
