Will COVID-19 Kill Smoking In Casinos?
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Smoking while gambling has been part of Nevada since the first casinos opened. Now COVID-19 doesn't mix well with smoking. Casinos are offering protections to lure nervous patrons back.
Park MGM became the first non-smoking property on the Strip in 26 years.
Cognizant of COVID-19, casinos have to balance the financial and health risks of allowing smoking with the benefits of not having it. Kelli Goatley-Seals is the president of the Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition and the health education coordinator for Washoe County Health District. She hopes Park MGM's nonsmoking development will show others it's possible to ban smoking and make a profit. She also believes people don't find it acceptable to allow smoking indoors anymore. "People aren't as patient and tolerant of those types of things anymore" . The outbreak may be a chance to get the word out about the dangers of smoking.
David Schwartz is a gaming historian and professor at UNLV. Kelli Goatley-Seals is the President of Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition and Health Educator Coordinator at Washoe County Health District.
