By
Jerry Smith
Staff Writer Updated: 07/05/2021
Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.
Pennsylvania Casinos Bring Back Smoking
After more than a year of stringent measures in place, casinos across the country are now getting back to some form of normality thanks to the success of the vaccination program. However, while people are largely pleased about the return to normality, one subject causing a lot of controversy is the return of smoking on the gaming floor.
During the peaks of the pandemic when masks became mandatory, smoking on the gaming floor in Pennsylvania casinos was banned.
While patrons could go to designated areas to light up, they were unable to do so on the gaming floor, which many had become used to over the years. However, this is now set to change again as things get another step closer to pre-pandemic days.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said that the smoking ban had originally been brought in last summer because of the need to wear face masks. However, as more and more people get vaccinated, the need to wear masks is changing, and this means that changes can also take place on the casino floor.
An official from the gaming board said:
We made the determination that the smoking ban was directly related to mask wearing and it was time to lift it. We informed the casinos last week that they can permit smoking again on the gaming floor per the Clean Indoor Air Act today.
One thing that has come to light is that although the gaming board has stated that casinos are not under any obligation to allow smoking on the gaming floor, all of them have decided to do it. This is because many are nervous that if they do not allow smoking again, they will lose gamblers to other casinos that do allow it.
However, the decision of the gaming board and the casinos is likely to spark controversy, with many having campaigned to keep the smoking ban permanently because of the effect on other gamers and employees at casinos.
Under current laws, casinos in Pennsylvania can allow smoking on 50 percent of the gaming floor. So, there are sections of the casino that will remain smoke-free, but it then limits choices for non-smoking patrons and employees have no choice over which part of the gaming floor they are on.
This is what is raising concerns among those that want to keep the smoking ban in place, as it means that those who do not want to be around smokers will struggle. This then means that they have no choice but to have their health compromised because of people smoking on 50 percent of the gaming floor.
Casinos have faced devastation over the past year, and many are eager to try and get back on track. Many are unwilling to take the risk of keeping the smoking ban in place at their venues because it could leave them lagging behind if other casinos do bring back smoking.
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