Posted on: May 6, 2024, 12:20h.
Last updated on: May 6, 2024, 12:20h.
Bally’s Twin River Lincoln in Rhode Island is doubling down on its nonsmoking offering for players seeking fresh indoor air environments.
Rhode Island-based Bally’s recently announced the debut of a second nonsmoking gaming area to complement the smoke-free second-floor casino. The additional clean-air gaming section is immediately inside the resort’s valet entrance.
The additional no-smoking casino gaming area on the first floor enables guests who prefer a no-smoking environment ample space and opportunities to enjoy their favorite games,” said Craig Eaton, president at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton.
The new nonsmoking area features 22 live dealer table games and approximately 550 slot-like video lottery terminals (VGTs). Guests can unwind, gamble, and socialize in the nonsmoking room that includes the Blackstone Bar.
With the inclusion of the additional tables and slots, Bally’s Twin River Lincoln now offers a total of 3,900 slots, 91 table games, 23 poker tables, and 27 electronic stadium-style table games.
Best of Both Worlds?
Casino workers who are tired of breathing secondhand smoke have united across the country through local chapters of a grassroots organization called CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects. CEASE originated in Atlantic City but has since expanded with chapters in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Virginia, Kansas, and Rhode Island.
Rhode Island’s 2004 Public Health and Workplace Safety Act allows casinos to designate certain areas for smoking. However, smoking sections are to be “physically separated” from the nonsmoking areas and have independent ventilation systems.
Through its $100 million renovation completed last year, Bally’s Lincoln debuted a nonsmoking room on the casino’s second floor. The room has 845 slots and about two dozen table games.
The $100 million overhaul also brought a new state-of-the-art ventilation system to the downstairs area where most gaming machines and table games operate. Eaton said last year that the casino’s goal is to not “discriminate against” smokers or nonsmokers but instead offer options for both sets of players.
“With the addition of the no-smoking casino section, Bally’s Twin River Lincoln continues to enhance its gaming experience, while preserving its ability to accommodate both smoking and nonsmoking guests,” a Bally’s release explained.
Table Game Smoking Banned
Rhode Island’s CEASE chapter continues to lobby for an amendment to the state’s 2004 law to close the casino smoking exemption. But the organization was dealt a winning hand in 2022 when it successfully rallied to convince Bally’s officials to extinguish smoking in front of table game dealers.
It was May 2022 when Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton announced table game players would no longer be allowed to smoke tobacco while seated. Smokers must instead go to a designated smoking receptacle on the outer perimeter of the table gaming area.
Bally’s is one of three publicly traded casino firms along with Boyd Gaming and Caesars Entertainment facing shareholder proposals to fully ban indoor smoking at their casino properties. The requests seek to force each firm to conduct reviews on the financial impact of going smoke-free.
The Americans Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation and Michigan healthcare system Trinity Health are behind the activist shareholder pursuits.
Along with its two casinos in Rhode Island, indoor smoking is allowed partially or fully on the casino floors of Bally’s properties in Atlantic City, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Nevada.
