Large Casino Workforce Coming Soon
A new casino coming to the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, is poised to become the first (but not the last) smokefree casino in the Hoosier State. Since 2012, residents and visitors of Terre Haute, Indiana have been breathing easier with all workplaces, restaurants, and bars smokefree by city ordinance. But along with new plans for a casino have come Big Tobacco’s old anecdotal scare stories about smokefree laws.
Successful Smokefree Casinos Exist
ANR Foundation organized a delegation to visit a successful smokefree casino for themselves—Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati—to ask questions and get answers. For most participants on the site visit, this was their first visit to a smokefree gambling venue in person. As part of the tour, the President of the Cincinnati property addressed the group. He mentioned that smokefree air is part of the regional attraction for the property—including for non-gaming business such as live entertainment, meeting venues, dining, and spa. The casino official also stated that guests frequently provide positive reviews of the smokefree environment in their social media posts and travel reviews and that staff strongly prefer to work in the smokefree setting.
Home of the Next Smokefree Casino?
The coalition is enthusiastic and eager to take the message home: “Why not Terre Haute as the home to the next smokefree casino?” To keep up with the regional market, smokefree indoor air is the new normal and a basic standard for health and safety for the hospitality industry.
Check out the video, news coverage, and photos from this event.
What Casino Audiences Want
Today 90% of young adults are nonsmokers, which has significant implications for casinos both as employers and entertainment destinations. Hoosier hospitality workers and residents deserve the same smokefree indoor air standards now taken for granted in many other states. Read more about what casino audiences say.
Casino ventilation systems do not address the health hazards of secondhand smoke.
To learn more about smokefree casinos visit SmokefreeCasinos.org–a project of the ANR Foundation.
