News

December 30, 2008

With more smoking room, casinos roll on

Mohegan Sun could get news today on more space based on machine use by smokers.

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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PLAINS TWP. -- The same law designed to curtail smoking in public places will allow casinos, including Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, to increase the smoking section of their gaming area.

Mohegan Sun could have state permission, as early as today, to double the size of its slot parlor smoking area. The casino would join four other Pennsylvania gambling sites, including Mount Airy Casino Resort in Paradise Township, Monroe County, that meet criteria under the Clean Indoor Air Act and have received approval.

Based on average machine revenue, when compared between the smoking and non-smoking sections, all seven casinos have met the requirements to expand smoking areas from the law’s initial maximum of 25 percent of the slot machine floor to the maximum of 50 percent.

Jim Wise, vice president of marketing at Mohegan Sun, said the Plains Township establishment is trying to “accommodate everyone. We’re trying to satisfy smokers and nonsmokers.”

He said the data show smokers account for more than the 25 percent of machines they’re relegated to now.

“We do think the increased number is a better representation of what our actual business is,” Wise said.

Six of the state’s seven casinos asked the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to allow them to increase the number of machines in its smoking sections. Only Hollywood Casino at Penn National, near Harrisburg, did not submit a request.

The act, a compromise smoking ban bill that left many loopholes and exceptions, was signed into law June 13. It took effect Sept. 11 and one provision enabled casinos to use revenue figures for machines in the smoking and non-smoking areas for the first 90 days to determine whether expansion of smoking areas would be permitted. To do so, the casino’s average gross slot take per day needed to be at least 25 percent higher per machine in the smoking section than those in the non-smoking section. Every casino easily exceeded that threshold.

The end of that period was Dec. 10 and, according to the data, all seven met the requirements. Mount Airy produced the greatest discrepancy, with smoking-area machines producing 185.1 percent the amount of money as those in non-smoking sections. The lowest revenue discrepancy was at Mohegan Sun, which reported 59.51 percent greater revenue from machines in smoking areas.

According to the law, if the report shows that “average gross terminal revenue per slot machine unit in the designated smoking area equals or exceeds the average gross terminal revenue per slot machine unit in the designated non-smoking area, the licensed facility may increase the designated smoking area of the gaming floor in proportion to the percentage difference in revenue” or 50 percent, whichever is lower.

Gaming Control Board spokesman Richard McGarvey said every entity that has requested the increase in its smoking section size met the letter of the law.

In addition to Mount Airy, approvals have been granted to Philadelphia Park near Bensalem, Presque Isle Downs near Erie and Harrah’s Chester Downs in Chester. The board has received requests from Mohegan Sun and The Meadows near Pittsburgh but hasn’t granted approval yet, though McGarvey said Mohegan could get the green light as early as today. Wise said state approval won’t lead to an overnight change on the slots floor.

“We have no specific timeframe, but I would guess it would be anywhere between a couple of days up to 10 days,” Wise said.

He said non-smokers shouldn’t fret about the increased smoking section because of the casino’s large size – the gaming floor is 65,000 square feet – the high ceilings and the state-of-the-art air-handling system.

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