Smoking Will Be Permitted in Designated Areas at MGM Grand Detroit

No longer permitted on casino property

Smoking is now permitted inside MGM Grand Detroit in certain areas, which was previously prohibited. On Wednesday, the casino made the new rule official and it went into force right away.

On the casino floor, visitors are still not permitted to ignite a lung dart. Smoking Slots East and Smoking Slots West are the only two indoor locations where smoking is permitted. To reduce smoke drift to nearby regions, the casino has put doors on the two sections of the site. There is still a smoking terrace outside.

smoking was initially prohibited on casino floors in 2020.

As smokers would have to take off their masks to smoke, the Michigan Gaming Control Board initially forbade smoking on casino floors in 2020 because to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smoking has been allowed once again at Hollywood Casino at Greektown, but only on the second floor. The other casino in Detroit, MotorCity Casino, continues to forbid it.

Smoking ban advocates despise it.

As one might anticipate, Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, is not pleased with the policy change. She claimed in a statement that it was "the equivalent of coal in their stockings this week" for casino personnel.

"These workers will now have to choose between their health and a wage after more than two years of a safe environment," Hallett stated. "This must change. The attempts to keep smoking and non-smoking areas apart, such as by installing doors, have frequently failed to shield staff members and visitors from secondhand smoke's harmful effects.

Although smoking and gaming have historically had a close relationship, non-smoking casinos now frequently do better than those that allow smoking, according to a June 2022 analysis by C3 Gaming.

Even though only 12% of Americans smoke, some casinos continue to put their employees' health below perceived revenues from this rapidly declining demographic, Hallett continued.

Smoking in casinos received attention due to the pandemic

During the pandemic, the issue of smoking in casinos has received increased attention. As casinos started to reopen around the nation in 2020, state governments and regulators enacted restrictions, but many of them discovered they could manage without permitting smoking.

They must spend hours unable to escape secondhand smoke if they wish to work.

Twenty states currently prohibit smoking in casinos, and many large casino owners have maintained their smoking restrictions in the states that do not. New Jersey is the focus of the smoking controversy, as legislation to outlaw the activity at casinos was presented just last year. Workers at casinos in Atlantic City have organized demonstrations to call on lawmakers and casinos to protect their health, especially given that if they want to work, they must spend hours unable to escape secondhand smoking.

Additionally, Rhode Island casino employees have urged lawmakers to outlaw smoking inside casinos. Members of the Pennsylvania legislature have advocated removing the exemptions that casinos now have to the state's Clean Indoor Air Act, which prevents smoking in public places.