Ohio casinos hope to add slot machines for smokers

The Bottom Line Other Business Features Local Stories from ThisWeek More Articles By Steve Wartenberg The Columbus Dispatch Thursday August 14, 2014 3:12 AM

Smokers soon could be able to play slot machines while puffing away on the outdoor patios of nine of Ohios 11 casinos and racinos.

Three of Ohios four casinos including Hollywood Casino Columbus have asked or soon will ask the Ohio Casino Control Commission for approval to add slots to their outdoor smoking patios.

The fourth, Horseshoe Cleveland, is in an historic downtown building, and they dont have the space for it, said Matt Schuler, executive director of the casino commission, which regulates the states four casinos and must approve the use of slots in these covered areas separated from the main gambling floors.

Four of the states five racinos have added video lottery terminals or slot machines to their outdoor smoking areas since opening. Scioto Downs Racino on the South Side has 15 such machines.

Ohio law prohibits smoking in public places such as casinos; smoking is permitted at casinos in most other states.

Its a question of economics, said Alan Silver, an Ohio University assistant professor of restaurant, hotel and tourism and a former casino executive. The casinos have to cater to the people who smoke and play, and thats a lot of people, and if the racinos already have it, the casinos have to go the same route.

Having slot machines in smoking areas means more revenue, which is the amount of money gamblers leave behind.

Its safe to say the slot machines in the smoking areas are producing more revenue per day on average than the rest of the floor, Schuler said.

Belterra Park in Cincinnati opened on May 1 and is the only racino that doesnt have slots in an outdoor smoking area. Two more racinos are set to open.

Visit link:
Ohio casinos hope to add slot machines for smokers