The Emerald Queen Casino Resort , Tacoma , Washington ilani Casino Resort , north of Portland , Oregon
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians owns and operates two casinos in Tacoma . The Emerald Queen Casino Resort , located on the east side of Interstate 5 , opened in 2020 , replacing an older facility . The property has approximately 2,100 EGDs , 60 tables and a 155-key 4-star hotel .
The casino adopted yet another policy different from others in the market . Smoking is permitted throughout most of the main gaming floor . A small portion of the slot floor near the property ’ s entertainment venue is designated as non-smoking , although there are no physical barriers separating those two zones . This design is similar to what casinos in Atlantic City offer ; however , unlike Atlantic City , patrons are not permitted to smoke while playing table games .
Emerald Queen Casino Fife is an older property located on the west side of Interstate 5 . It is comprised of 2,300 EGDs and a 103-key hotel . Table games are not offered . The casino contains a series of rooms , each designated as either smoking or non-smoking . Management made a concerted effort to provide patrons with direct access to a non-smoking room from portions of its parking lot without forcing customers to walk through smoking zones .
Further south , the Nisqually Red Wind Casino near Olympia has taken yet another approach . The casino is divided into two zones : a non-smoking main casino with 937 EGDs and 20 table games with access to all of its primary restaurants , and a separate room with 713 machines in a smoking zone . Migration of smoke is kept to a minimum , and the two areas offer a near identical mix of EGDs .
Further south in Rochester , the Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel adopted a similar strategy , although its allocation of gaming devices favors smokers . The casino floor closest to the main entrance is smoke-free , as are all of its table games . The remainder of the casino is designated as smoking . Access to some of the restaurants requires patrons to walk through smoking zones .
The Olympic Peninsula
The casinos along the southeast portion of the Olympic Peninsula , west of Tacoma , offer yet another mix of policies . The Little Creek Casino Hotel in Shelton features approximately 750 EGDs and 20 tables . The Squaxin Island Tribe adopted a non-smoking policy at the onset of the pandemic and has not veered from that decision . Smoking is only permitted outdoors . Covered areas provide smokers with protection from the elements .
Thirteen miles to the north , the Lucky Dog Casino offers 191 EGDs on its main gaming floor , designated as 100 percent non-smoking . An outdoor smoking patio , located at the rear of the property , features a small wooden shed , which houses four EGDs where patrons can play and smoke at the same time .
The Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort overlooks the Puget Sound , approximately 55 miles north of Tacoma . The property features two hotels and a casino with approximately 1,250 EGDs and 28 table games . Prior to the pandemic , the casino featured a glass-enclosed room that served as the non-smoking section .
Post-pandemic , the allocation of space was reversed . Today , the majority of the casino is non-smoking and approximately 70 EGDs are located in what is now a separate smoking zone .
Finally , the Point Casino Hotel in Kingston , comprised of two Sprung structures and a 94-key hotel , took a different approach from other operators on the peninsula . As competitors confined smoking to smaller areas of the casino or eliminated it completely , leadership saw an opportunity and doubled down on smoking .
They designated their larger Sprung structure , which houses their main casino , as 100 percent smoking . They then converted a smaller Sprung structure that once served as an entertainment venue into a non-smoking gaming area . Positive air pressure and a separate entrance from the parking lot allow patrons to avoid smoking zones .
The Interstate 5 corridor and the Olympic Peninsula offer an alternative approach to the uneven playing field . Unlike most commercial jurisdictions , each operator sets its own policy and tilts that field to its strategic advantage .
For some operators , their strategy is to restrict smoking or ban it completely to best serve the needs of their business , their customers and their employees . For others , smoking is used as a competitive advantage , either to gain more market share , or as a point of differentiation .
Andrew Klebanow is the principal at Klebanow Consulting . He has worked in the casino industry since 1977 and as a gaming consultant since 2001 . He can be reached at Andrew @ KlebanowConsulting . com .
16 Global Gaming Business AUGUST 2024