Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem makes nearly half of gambling floor smoker friendly

Nearly half of the gambling floor at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is now smoker friendly after a revenue report showed smokers are wagering much more than nonsmokers.
A Sands announcement Monday said the expansion took effect immediately.
Since opening May 22, the casino had allowed gamblers to light up at 25 percent of its machines. The state gives the casino the option of increasing the percentage up to 50 percent if the smoker-friendly machines are bringing in more business than their nonsmoking counterparts after 90 days of operation.
That 90-day mark passed last week and the revenue reports showed that the average slot winnings per day in the casino's smoking area were $324.36 per machine compared to $181.01 in winnings in the nonsmoking area.
The difference is more than 79 percent, according to the reports.
Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, said the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue compiles the figures and Sands submitted them last week in an application to bolster the smoking area. Also submitted was a new floor plan that identifies between "48 and 49 percent of the floor" allowing smoking, he said.
McGarvey said every casino in the state that has been open for more than 90 days has chosen to increase the smoking area; most have stayed just under the 50 percent cap to make sure they're in complete compliance with the law.
Tobacco Free Northeast PA is aware of the Sands increase and fears it will put casino employees at a greater health risk.
"This is just not healthy for the employees," said Jeanne Fignar, policy and research coordinator for the organization. "It's not fair to the employees."
Fignar said the argument that employees who don't want to be exposed to secondhand smoke shouldn't work at the casino doesn't hold up given the state of the economy and the difficulty many are having finding good-paying jobs.
As for casino visitors, Fignar said it doesn't really matter whether smoking is allowed at 25 percent of the casino floor or 50 percent; the secondhand smoke poses a short-term danger at any level.
Efforts to reach Sands officials Monday were unsuccessful. Messages left with two representatives were not immediately returned.
However, in the news release, Sands noted that the casino "features a state-of-the-art filtration system originally designed to handle smoking on 100 percent of the casino floor." The release also notes that all the casino's restaurants and 50 percent of its gambling floor will remain completely smoke-free.
Fignar disputes that those efforts will do anything to curb secondhand smoke exposure. She said little can be done in the enforcement against smokers who walk by the nonsmoking areas with cigarettes. She also said there is no filtration system in existence that is capable of eliminating secondhand smoke.
For those who would prefer to gamble in a smoke-free environment, there are some options on the way, McGarvey said.
Casinos that will eventually open in Philadelphia will be completely smoke-free because of a city ordinance banning indoor smoking that was recognized in the state gaming law, he said.